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Newport News Police Department
III. PROCEDURE
A. Submission of Property and Evidence
1. All property and evidence recovered will be submitted to the P&E Unit or placed in the temporary
storage lockers before the end of the employee’s shift. Off-duty employees shall immediately make
arrangements to submit any recovered property. [84.1.1(b)]
2. All return to owner property must be brought to headquarters P&E and submitted to avoid delays in
returning items to owners.
3. Property recovered during a secondary employment assignment will be submitted by the employee
working the secondary employment.
NOTE: Contact a supervisor or the P&E Unit regarding any evidence for which you are unsure of
the proper handling and/or submission procedures.
4. When an officer or forensic technician receives physical evidence from another employee in the field,
they must document the name of the transferring employee and the time the property was
transferred. It is best practice to limit the number of field transfers of physical evidence to as few
officers and technicians as possible. [83.2.1(d)]
5. The P&E Unit may refuse to accept any item:
a. Improperly packaged, marked, or tagged.
b. With an incomplete or improperly completed Property & Evidence Inventory Control sheet
(NNPD Form #8, “P&E sheet”), or
c. Improperly seized.
6. When submitting an item that contains property (i.e., backpack, purse, bag, etc.), the submitting
officer will inventory the contents and document them on the P&E sheet. The contents will be
submitted in the original container unless they are illegal, a weapon, hazardous, or currency, in which
case they will be packaged following procedures in Section III. D.2 or III. E. If the inventory is
conducted following an arrest (see section II. F.), the officer may determine whether items should be
submitted as evidence or additional charges may be sought.
7. P&E technicians shall log the information on all received property into the P&E records database as
soon as possible. [84.1.1(a)]
8. Whenever the P&E Unit identifies incomplete or improperly completed P&E sheets or an improperly
packaged item, the P&E technician will:
a. Transmit a copy of the P&E sheet and a brief explanation of changes needed to the submitter with
the request that the employee report to the P&E Unit as soon as possible to correct the problem.
b. If the employee fails to report within five working days, a follow-up letter will be sent to the
employee’s supervisor.
9. Employees shall notify the P&E Unit when a final disposition can be made concerning any items
submitted. Notification may be made by: [84.1.1(g)]
a. A signed Tracer Form.
b. A signature in the “Permanent Release of Property Section” of the P&E sheet.
c. Department email only if there is a legitimate time-sensitive reason. If email notification is
necessary, employees must copy their immediate supervisor and state the reason they are unable
to sign the Tracer form or P&E sheet.
10. Release of evidentiary items to employees
a. Employees may request the temporary release of evidentiary items for investigative, laboratory
analysis, or court purposes. The employee will provide the P&E Sheet number or other identifying
information to obtain the items. [84.1.1(g)]
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