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Most Wanted Interpretations

Property and Evidence Inspections

At the March Commission Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, the Standards Review and Interpretation Committee made a formal interpretation of the Law Enforcement Accreditation standard 84.1.6, bullet (d). Approved by the full Commission, the interpretation requires an unannounced inspection of the property and evidence areas at least once per year.

Bullet (d) currently reads: unannounced inspections of property storage areas are conducted as directed by the agency’s chief executive officer.  

The revised wording in the upcoming 5th Edition of the Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies will be (d) unannounced inspections of property storage areas are conducted as directed by the agency’s chief executive officer at least once per year.

 The Commission reviewed this bullet at the request of staff due to the fact that several agencies have misinterpreted the standard to allow the chief executive officer to call for an unannounced inspection or not call for one at all. Some agencies had not called for an unannounced inspection during their three-year award cycle.

 The Commission’s past intent has been to have at least one unannounced inspection during the agency’s three-year cycle. Further, the Commission felt this to be the appropriate time to state their current intent and change the wording in concert with the publication of the 5th Edition manual.

 The unannounced inspection is not a time consuming task. It can be as simple as the chief executive officer or their designee entering the property and evidence areas and inspecting for cleanliness, orderliness, and tracing a few pieces of property and evidence to assure they are in the proper place as stated in the area’s records.

 Bullet (a) a semi-annual inspection, bullet (b) an inventory when the person responsible leaves, and bullet (c) an annual audit are all much more time consuming reviews. The new interpretation for bullet (d) should not be expected to be as in-depth as the previous three bullets. June 2005