Evidence Collection And Storage

Physical and documentary evidence during a workplace or internal investigation must be retained in the same state as when received, and physical evidence needs to have a “chain of custody“ established. Chain of custody refers to the documentation of the collection, custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of evidence. Documentation for evidence must include:

• The conditions under which the evidence is gathered
• Where and from whom the evidence was retrieved
• When it was collected
• For what purpose it was collected
• The identity of all who handled the evidence
• Security conditions while handling or storing the evidence
• Where it is stored
• Who has possession of the evidence
• The manner in which evidence is transferred to subsequent persons each time evidence is transferred
• When it was returned
• To whom it was returned
• The signatures of persons handling the evidence

Evidence should be logged and this can be accomplished by identifying pieces of evidence as an Exhibit, such as Exhibit A, B, C, etc. In the investigator's case file, the details regarding evidence collection, location of where the evidence is stored, and its accompanying evidence number should all be documented. For an HR Generalist, maintaining this log is critical for human resources compliance and adhering to labor law. Typically, creating a simple spreadsheet with various headings is all that is needed. In using investigative case management software, an evidence log will already be part of the application and investigators would simply populate the data. If using case management software, evidence tagging is usually a component of the software and will enable investigators to assign a number to the evidence and create a barcode label to affix either directly to the piece of evidence or on a storage box containing the evidence.