Policy Text
Page 1 of 3 16/18 (REV 5/18)
Narcotics Booking Procedures
The purpose of this General Order i s to describe the procedures for booking narcotics/
controlled substances. I. Narcotics/Controlled Substances
A. All narcotics must be listed on a Narcotics Property Receipt / Report or
properly entered into the Automat ed Field Reporting (AFR) syste m and
enclosed in or accompanied by a p reprinted narcotics envelope. All
narcotics envelopes are to be se aled securely and booked into a narcotics
safe. Ensure that the safe log is completed.
B. Officers shall properly seal the narcotics envelope by tapin g the envelope
after sealing it and signing the envelope with their name or in itials, badge
number and date. The signature will go across the tape and env elope.
C. The "Kapac" plastic envelope/ bag process is to be used when appropriate.
The Kapac bag should be a standar d grade that can withstand the heat
sealing application without melti ng away or degrading to an una cceptable
condition.
D. Controlled substance items t hat fit into the envelope are re quired to be
inside the envelope. If the item s are too large or bulky, a ba g or box may
be used to containerize with a narcotics envelope attached.
E. The narcotics envelope mus t be completely filled out.
F. The item numbers listed on t he narcotic envelope shall corre spond to the
item number on the Narcot ics Receipt/Report or AFR.
G. Narcotics paraphernalia is no t to be booked in a narcotics e nvelope, but
on a regular Property Receip t/Report or entered into AFR.
H. The booking officer shall fully describe the substance on th e Property
Receipt/Report or entered into AFR.
I. Any controlled substance cont ainer too large to fit into a s afe may be
placed in a locker. The safe log must be completed indicating the number
of the locker used. If the locke r has a key, place the key in the safe.
Page 2 of 3 16/18 (REV 5/18) J. All narcotics with the except ion of marijuana, identifiable prescription and
over the counter drugs shall be tested with an approved chemica l
presumptive test (NIK, VALTOX , NARTEC) prior to booking. Substa nces
that test positive must be packa ged in or have attached a compl eted
narcotics envelope. Substances that test negative may be booke d as
general property if the notation “Presumptive tested negative” is written on
the property form.
K. A gram scale shall be availabl e in each Divisi on where contr olled
substances are booked, and the we ight shall be entered on the P roperty
Receipt/Report or AFR and on the narcotics envelope. The docum ented
weight should indicate if it i s with or without packaging.
L. Narcotics booked into evidence are automatically submitted t o the Crime
Lab for all adult drug arrests.
1. The Crime Lab measures the to tal net weight of the drug(s).
Packaging is not included.
2. All narcotics are tested by the Crime Lab, as long as there is a
sufficient amount to be tested. Amounts less than 0.01 grams w ill
not be tested.
3. The Crime Lab will not remove packaging to be submitted for
fingerprint processing. Officers must separate the narcotics f rom
the packaging and book the packaging separately, indicating the
request for fingerprinting on the Property Receipt/Report AFR.
4. Send copies of all narcotic cr ime reports incident reports o r
Property Receipt/Reports involvi ng controlled substances to the
Violence Suppression & Narcoti c Investigations Division.
5. All pills must be separated fr om bulk property, placed in a Kapac
envelope/bag and enclos ed in a preprinted, c ompleted Narcotics
envelope.
II. Marijuana
A. When booking marijuana plants , the Property Receipt/Report o r the AFR
should contain a description o f the height, fullness and maturi ty of each
plant.
B. All marijuana being booked into property must be dried prior to bagging.
The Property Bureau is available to assist in drying marijuana if
necessary.
C. Book marijuana in non-air tigh t containers. Do not request substance
analysis, as this is only authoriz ed by the District Attorney.
Page 3 of 3 16/18 (REV 5/18) III. Contraband/Book for Destruction
A. All contraband, such as narco tics or marijuana, which will n ot be used as
evidence, shall be booked for des truction. Narcotics must be en closed in
or accompanied by a prepr inted narcotics envelope.
B. Mark the “Contraban d” box on the Narcotic Property Receipt/R eport or in
AFR in all cases when the cont raband is booked for destruction.
C. Send a copy of the narcotic receipt/report to the Violence S uppression &
Narcotics Investigations Divis ion if the amount of contraband i s significant
or if there is a potential fo r further investigation.
IV. Syringes/Hypodermic Needles
A. The Property Bureau does not c onsider a capped syringe safe packaging.
All syringes must be individual ly packaged in a hard plastic sy