This week, the participants of the Community Police Academy learned about evidence collection and storage.
I'm attending the Burlington Police Department's Community Police Academy every Tuesday night for nine weeks. It's being held over Zoom for the first time because of the pandemic.
Each week focuses on a different aspect of policing in Burlington. This past week, we heard from Mark McMullen, evidence control supervisor.
McMullen oversees the Evidence Control Unit and the Crime Scene Investigations unit.
The Evidence Control Unit
The evidence control unit is in charge of all the evidence police collect during investigations. The department has 60,000 pieces of evidence, and the chain of custody on all this evidence is tracked.
The police have to make sure they follow court procedure for keeping and disposing of this evidence. No evidence from a felony investigation can be disposed of without permission from the court. Evidence can sometimes be destroyed once a case is finished, but it depends on the type of case.
Items from a homicide investigation, for example, must be kept indefinitely.
Before destroying evidence after a felony case is closed, the evidence control unit checks with the officer on the case and the district attorney. Once the department receives approval, items are returned to their owners or burned. Some high-value items are auctioned off, with proceeds going to the school board.
The police department's evidence room was recently renovated to provide more space for storage. Everything is organized under a filing system, so officers can find evidence quickly. Only the Evidence Control Unit has access to the evidence room. Even the chief doesn't have access without being let in by someone in the unit, McMullen said.
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The Crime Scene Investigations unit
The Crime Scene Investigations unit are the people who collect evidence at crime scenes.
Some people think they know about crime scene investigations because of CSI and other crime shows, but McMullen said although those shows get some aspects of the job right, they're unrealistic because they solve crimes so quickly.
"There has never been a criminal investigation solved within an hour using forensic evidence," McMullen said.
At the crime scene, investigators take dozens if not hundreds of photos to document the scene. They take larger photos showing the overall scene and surrounding area in addition to photos of every piece of evidence such as bullet casings, spots of blood spatter or marks on a body.
They will also sketch the crime scene, including things like furniture and evidence. Investigators will measure the scene and document those measurements as well.
Investigators collect fingerprints and take castings of other prints, such as those from shoes or tires. They can get DNA from things like blood, saliva and skin particles.
Those working crime scenes wear personal protective equipment over their clothes from head to toe to make sure they don't contaminate the scene.
Volunteers
At the end of the meeting, Greg Seel, director of auxiliary services, spoke about the department's volunteer program.
Volunteers carry out tasks that the department doesn't need a trained police officer to complete, thereby freeing up more time for the officers to do their jobs.
When not in a pandemic, volunteers help at large events such as fireworks displays. They can also check houses for people who are out of town that request that the police check on their property.
Volunteers help in other capacities, such as serving subpoenas and other activities the police would need help with. Seel said typically those who sign up to volunteer will be sent an email whenever a volunteer opportunity becomes available.
According to the police department's website, volunteer opportunities are open to those who have completed the Community Police Academy.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Burlington Community Police Academy focuses on evidence collection, storage
