Policy Text
Property Bureau Page 1 of 4 56/00.0 (REV 2/96)
TEMPORARY RELEASES/CHAIN OF POSSESSION
The purpose of this order is to d escribe the procedures to be u sed when transferring
property on a temporary release from a person, location, or age ncy.
I. General
The utmost care must be taken to ensure an unbroken chain of po ssession for
each item of property booked. The chain of possession is an acc urate recording
of the movement of each article of property from the time it is recovered and/or
confiscated by an officer until it is returned to its rightful owner or otherwise
disposed of.
II. Temporary Release
A. A temporary release is when pr operty is released but normall y will be
returned to the Property Bureau. E xamples of temporary release are:
1. Additional investigation. 2. Analysis. 3. Identification work. 4. Court exhibits.
B. The temporary release of pr operty is restrict ed to certain s pecified
individuals or agencies. Those i ndividuals or agencies are as f ollows:
1. Sacramento Sheriff’ s Department personnel.
2. Sacramento County District A ttorney’s office personnel.
3. US Treasury agents (c ounterfeit money only).
4. US Drug Enforcement Agency agent s (only that property seized by
that particular agency).
5. California Bureau of Narcoti c Enforcement agents (only that
property seized by that particular agency).
Property Bureau Page 2 of 4 56/00.0 (REV 2/96)
6. Sworn officers from surroundi ng agencies (only that property seized
by that particular officer or agency).
C. The property officer will veri fy that the person requesting the property on a
temporary release is authorized to do so. If the person is not known to the
property officer, they shall r equest to see appropriate identif ication.
D. All other requests for temporar y release of property must be authorized in
writing by either the Detective Divisi on bureau that is investigating the
case or the deputy District Attorney prosecuting the case.
E. Requests to view property by individuals or agencies not ide ntified in
Paragraph I, Section B of this or der must be submitted to eithe r the
Detective Division bureau investi gating the case or the deputy District
Attorney prosecuting the case. If the request is approved, the requesting
party must be accompanied by pers onnel of the approving Detecti ve
Division bureau or the DA’s offi ce. In certain circumstances, s pecial
arrangements may be made with t he Property Bureau supervisor.
III. Chain of Possession
A. Each movement of property s hall be recorded on the back of t he property
receipt/report in the “chain of possession” section.
B. The officer or report writer r ecovering/confiscating propert y shall complete
the first two lines in the chai n of possession section at the t ime of recovery
or confiscation.
C. The next area labe led “warehouse” shall be completed by a pr operty
officer at the time of booking. Note : The chain of possession section on a
narcotic envelope must also be co mpleted whenever narcotics are
released on a temporary release.
D. The rest of the chain of po ssession section shall be used to record any
temporary movement of the prop erty. Use the next available line in the
section for each new entry. Recor d only the item number(s) list ed on the
front of the page. Item numbers of subsequent pages will be rec orded on
the reverse side of the page. Eac h section of the line must be completed
as appropriate.
1. Release to the ID Bureau:
a. Indicate the appropriate item numbers. Obtain a legible
signature and badge nu mber from the receiving person.
Leave the corresponding yellow copy of the property receipt/report with the property.
Property Bureau Page 3 of 4 56/00.0 (REV 2/96)
2. Release to the DA’s Crime Lab:
a. Indicate the appropriate item number(s). Obtain a legible
signature and badge nu mber from the receiving person.
3. Release to the DA’s Office or ot her law enforcement agency:
a. Indicate the appropriate item number(s). Obtain a legible
signature and badge nu mber from the receiving person.
4. Release to detective for investigation:
a. Indicate the appropriate item number(s). Obtain a legible
signature and badge nu mber from the receiving detective.
Provide the detective with t he corresponding yellow copy of
the property receipt/report.
5. Release to an officer or detective for court:
a. Indicate the appropriate item number(s). Obtain a legible
signature and badge number from t he receiving officer. The
receiving officer shall be gi ven the corresponding yellow
copy of the property receipt/report.
b. At the time the receiving offi cer confers with the deputy
District Attorney, a determinat ion will be made as to the
property’s potential use as evidence in court.
(1) If the property will not b e needed, the officer shall
return the property along wit h the yellow receipt to the
Property Warehouse and indicate the status of the case and whether any proper ty can be released or
disposed of.
(2) If the property is to be introduced into evidence, the
officer shall require the deput y District Attorney to sign
(legibly) for the property on the yellow copy of the property receipt/report. The receipt shall be returned to the Property Warehouse.
6. Property