Hi, Today’s Topic from Tracker Products is, “Adopting the Auto-Disposition Mind-Set”
As you may know, the final link in the evidence custody chain is disposition. Proper evidence disposition is crucial to the integrity of the evidence custody chain as a whole.
But, with a mountain of cases – all of which are at different stages in the legal process – it can be difficult to know when to follow up. The old way of manually managing and disposing of evidence is not only ineffective, it contributes to bloated facilities; loaded with unnecessary evidence, that require additional, and expensive, storage solutions.
That’s where Auto Disposition can help. With your input, Tracker generates a follow-up date for different stages of each case. On the day that the case comes up for review, the system will automatically create a task for the Case Officer. That Task will then be used so that all the moving parts in the case will be documented and move items towards disposition.
Through this process, far more evidence can be disposed of than when using a manual or paper-driven processes. In the digital task, you can either… Push a Case Review date to a future date, at-which-time another Task will be sent out asking for an update. Or, if the User says that it is ok to get rid of Item(s) in a case, you Tag that item for return or destruction. As a side note, you can edit individual items, or Mass Update many.
If you decide to use Auto Disposition for your agency, be aware you may receive a certain level of resistance and complaints. This is especially true if you are going from a system where people were not required to follow up, to a system where people are held accountable for the evidence they submit. Make sure you have backing from Command so that your users can’t ignore these requests for updates. Keep in mind, it may take roughly 90 days until you establish a discipline.
After 90 days this will become ‘part of the process’ and your users will naturally comply.
Our SAFE evidence tracking software is more than just barcodes and inventory control. Tracker software is an end-to-end chain of custody platform for physical and digital evidence, that helps to resolve the critical issues facing evidence management today.
To learn more about Tracker Products, visit us at http://www.trackerproducts.com
Thank you for listening, and have a phenomenal day!
