Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAudit Reports - Public - Glendale Police Department - Property/Evidence Storage Review - 1/23/2023 Glendale Police Department Property/Evidence Storage Review January 23, 2023 Independent Internal Audit Program 1 Independent Internal Audit Program Police Property/Evidence Storage Review Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 A. Introduction 3 B. Background 3 C. Objective 3 D. Key Outcomes 4 E. Results and Recommendations 4 F. Process Improvement Opportunities 4 G. Scope and Methodology 5 H. Physical Security and Data Reliability 5 2 Independent Internal Audit Program Police Property/Evidence Storage Review Executive Summary As part of our FY 2023 Audit Plan approved by the City Council, City of Glendale's Independent Internal Audit Program (IIAP) conducted a limited scope audit of the Police Department’s Property/Evidence Storage Facility (PESF). A new PESF is part of the City’s approved Capital Improvement Program (CIP). This limited scope audit was performed to evaluate current operations related to the storage, tracking, and custody of items entrusted to the safekeeping of Glendale Police Department (GPD). Audit Objectives: The main objective of this limited scope audit was to assess PESF operations and its alignment with law enforcement standards. The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), along with the International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc. (IAPE), designate procedures and documentation requirements that GPD is expected to follow. In order to help maintain its CALEA accreditation, GPD performs a number of self-audits throughout each year to ensure compliance. Audit Conclusions: Per the CALEA client database, GPD was initially accredited as of July 29, 2000, and has achieved reaccreditation each review period since, most recently in July of 2022. Accredited agencies are expected to perform ongoing internal, systematic analyses of their operations, management, and practices to determine if they comply with applicable standards. Property/Evidence safekeeping is one aspect of overall self-assessment. As CALEA reaccreditation of GPD has remained current for over two decades, it is clear that adequate procedures and documentation are in place, including PESF operations. Finding: No findings noted and management response is not required. Despite limited staff and significant space constraints, PESF staff do an excellent job of maintaining items under their control. Description: Due to the frequency of both scheduled and unannounced PESF self-audits conducted by GPD, and because planning for a new PESF facility has already considered needed space and controls, IIAP determined a limited scope review would suffice at this time. Therefore, IIAP performed an unannounced sample test of 100 high-risk items maintained at the current PESF. All items were located where the system indicated they should be. 3 Independent Internal Audit Program Police Property/Evidence Storage Review A. Introduction As part of our FY 2023 Audit Plan approved by the City Council, City of Glendale's Independent Internal Audit Program (IIAP) conducted a limited scope audit of the Police Department’s Property/Evidence Storage Facility (PESF). A new PESF is part of the City’s approved Capital Improvement Program (CIP). This limited scope audit was performed to evaluate current operations related to the storage, tracking, and custody of items entrusted to the safekeeping of Glendale Police Department (GPD). B. Background The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), along with the International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc. (IAPE), designate procedures and documentation requirements that GPD is expected to follow. Per the CALEA client database, GPD was initially accredited as of July 29, 2000, and has achieved reaccreditation each review period since, most recently in July of 2022. Accredited agencies are expected to perform ongoing internal, systematic analyses of their operations, management, and practices to determine if they comply with applicable standards. Property/Evidence safekeeping is one aspect of overall self-assessment. While some items can be dispositioned upon final adjudication of a case, many are kept for decades, especially for violent crimes/capital cases where numerous court appeals are common. There are currently 185,700 items that GPD is responsible for, with over 20,000 of those categorized by CALEA as high-risk. As an example, if a drug case has multiple small bags of narcotics intended for distribution or many bullet casings are found at the crime scene, each one of those might be a separate piece of evidence. The current space at GPD headquarters is insufficient to meet storage needs. All items considered high-risk (drugs and drug paraphernalia, money, firearms, etc.) are securely stored here, including items like blood samples and sexual assault kits that must be refrigerated. Thousands of other items are stored at a separate secured location for various reasons (oversized, non-valuables, etc.) and this location is currently scheduled for demolition. The CIP includes plans for a new PESF at a vacant lot near the Field Operations campus. C. Objective The main objective of this limited scope audit was to assess PESF operations and its alignment with law enforcement standards. To help maintain its CALEA accreditation, GPD performs a number of self-audits throughout each year to ensure compliance with published standards. 4 Independent Internal Audit Program Police Property/Evidence Storage Review D. Key Outcomes Due to the frequency of both scheduled and unannounced PESF self-audits conducted by GPD, and because planning for a new PESF facility has already considered needed space and controls, IIAP determined a limited scope review would suffice at this time. Therefore, IIAP performed an unannounced sample test of 100 high-risk items maintained at the current PESF. All items were located where the system indicated they should be. E. Results and Recommendations Findings: None; no management response required. The applicable standard for maintaining evidentiary integrity over agency-controlled property and evidence is CALEA 84.1.6 Inspections and Reports. The standard requires that the following documented inspections, inventory, and audits shall be completed: The IAPE standards are similar with respect to type, frequency, and documentation of audits and inspections, both scheduled and unannounced. IIAP requested copies of the memos detailing the results of these exercises for the past two years. Per review of the documentation received, GPD has performed all of their required inspections and counts in accordance with CALEA standards. F. Process Improvement Opportunities GPD currently tags each piece of evidence with a barcode and tracks it within their Motorola system, PremierOne. In conjunction with construction of the new PESF and pending relevant City Council approvals, GPD will implement an RFID (radio-frequency identification) system to tag and track all high-risk items in their care. Ultimately, this system (PADtrax) will integrate with PremierOne and allow GPD to instantly locate any RFID-tagged item, further enhancing the safekeeping and tracking of evidence. 5 Independent Internal Audit Program Police Property/Evidence Storage Review G. Scope and Methodology Due to the nature of this limited scope audit, it was not performed in accordance with the Government Accountability Office (GAO)'s generally accepted government auditing standards and/or the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)'s international professional practices framework. Instead, IIAP performed a sample test of property/evidence items to provide assurance that relevant controls were in place and operating as intended. IIAP determined internal controls over the following areas were relevant to our objectives: • Documentation of required PESF inspections and counts performed by GPD; and, • Adequacy of secure access to PESF and its contents. To accomplish our objective, IIAP performed the following activities: • Reviewed applicable standards related to storage and safekeeping of evidence and property under GPD care; • Reviewed records of inspections and counts performed by GPD over the past two calendar years; • Selected a random sample of 100 high-risk items (73 drug items, 18 firearms, and 9 currency items) from the GPD property/evidence system (PremierOne); and, • Performed an unannounced audit of the selected sample on the morning of December 29, 2022. H. Physical Security and Data Reliability Due to the sensitive nature of the items that GPD is responsible for maintaining, there is very limited access to the PESF. Anyone that enters the PESF is logged, whether through badge access or physical sign in/out sheets. While all officers can submit property sheets through the current property/evidence system, only the PESF staff track and report all the items contained within. The primary data utilized for the work performed in this audit was obtained directly from PremierOne by PESF staff and/or GPD’s IT personnel. IIAP also utilized the CALEA and IAPE websites to determine the applicable standards to audit against.