Policy Text
\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
SUBJECT
Impounding and Controlling of
Property and Evidence
CHIEF OF POLICE
Signature on File
Proudly Policing Since 1826 Nationally Accredited 1986
NUMBER ORIGINAL ISSUE CURRENT REVISION TOTAL PAGES
42 07/15/1985 10/6/2025 33
AUTHORITY/RELATED REFERENCES
ER 22, Separation from Employment
FSU 11, Digital Image Management System
General Order 8, Mentally Ill Persons
General Order 11, Communicable Disease Control
General Order 19, Digital Devices and Media
PE 6, Controlled Substances and Weapons Used for Training or Investigations
Property and Evidence Packaging Manual
ACCREDITATION REFERENCES
CALEA Chapters 61, 82, 83, 84
CFA Chapters 27
KEY WORD INDEX
Access Protocols – Temporary Evidence Storage Room Procedure XVI
Found Property and Personal Property Protocols Procedure III
High-Risk Property Impoundment Protocols Procedure IV
Hold and Release/Disposal Protocols Procedure XI
Impoundment and Transfer to Property & Evidence Unit Procedure II
Impoundment Protocols – Airport Police Unit Procedure VI
Impoundment Protocols – Crime Scenes Procedure VII
Member Responsibilities and Prohibitions Procedure I
Property and Evidence Packaging Manual and Supplies Procedure XVII
Property Retained for Department Use Procedure XIV
Recovered Stolen Property Procedure IX
Release of Firearms from the Property & Evidence Unit Procedure XII
Requests for Forensic Analysis Procedure VIII
Seizure/Impoundment Guidelines – Electronic Equipment Procedure V
Separation from Employment Protocols Procedure XV\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Temporary Release and Viewing of Evidence Procedure X
Use of Seized Property for Training and Investigations Procedure XIII
POLICY
Members are responsible for adhering to established Department protocols and
statutory mandates in the collection, processing, packaging, storing, and disposal of all
property under Department control.
DEFINITIONS
Business Day: Any weekday (excluding holidays observed by the City of Tallahassee).
Case Officer: The impounding officer, Community Service Technician (CST) or
Community Service Aide (CSA), with primary responsibility for a case not assigned to a
detective.
Chain of Custody: Documented successive possession of property.
Destroy: To damage something to the point it cannot be used.
Dispose/Disposal: To lawfully discard, destroy, transfer ownership, surplus, donate, or
return to the rightful owner any property under the control of the Property and Evidence
Unit.
Evidence: Any property needed or necessary to persuade, establish, prove, or
disprove an issue or fact before any civil, administrative, or criminal tribunal (e.g.,
electronic or digitally stored record, written document, exhibit, or object).
FDLE Request for Analysis Form (PD 140): A Department form which is utilized to
request the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to analyze evidentiary items.
Forensic Unit Request Form (PD 167): A Department form which is utilized to request
the Forensic Unit to analyze evidentiary items.
Found Property: Other than evidence or suspicious property, any item which is
abandoned or lost, claimed or unclaimed, where ownership cannot be substantially
determined, or the rightful owner cannot be located by the seizing member.
Global Jacket: A designated repository of information within certain modules of
LERMS about a specific person (Global Subjects), firearm (Global Guns), or vehicle
(Global Vehicles).
High-risk Property: Property requiring added security and/or needing to be stored
separately from other property. High-risk property includes firearms, currency,
GENERAL ORDER 42 PAGE 2 of 33
IMPOUNDING AND CONTROLLING OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE OCTOBER 6 , 2025\n\n--- Page 3 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
negotiable securities (e.g., bonds, stock certificates), jewelry, precious metals,
gemstones, artwork, and controlled substances.
Hold: An order to retain for cause any property or evidence until its value as evidence
has ceased or policy or law permits its release.
LERMS: Law Enforcement Records Management System.
LERMS Property Quick Entry: A LERMS inventory control module utilized to track all
property under the control of the Property and Evidence Unit. An entry captures the
property description and chain of custody information (e.g., date/time, transfer method,
member information, reason for impounding/transfer).
Personal Property: Other than evidence or suspicious property, any item belonging to
a person, alive or deceased, and temporarily kept by the Property and Evidence Unit for
safekeeping.
Property: Any article, private or public, that is real, tangible, visible, or movable, and
has value of any amount at the time of possession or prior to impoundment.
Property & Evidence Disposition Form (PD 143): A Department form used for
documented communication between the Property & Evidence Unit and non-unit
members regarding the case status and disposition of property held by the Property &
Evidence Unit. The PD 143A is the electronic version of the PD 143.
Property & Evidence Disposition Module: A module in LERMS which is utilized for
Officers/Detectives to provide updates on a case when a target date is reached for
review. The Officer/Detective can direct P&E to hold, dispose of, or release evidence in
a case.
Property & Evidence Receipt (PD 139): A Department form which is utilized to
document relevant information related to the seizure, impoundment, and transfer of
property or evidence by a member.
Property Withdrawal Receipt: A computer-generated document utilized by the
Property and Evidence Unit to document the chain of custody of property under its
control when the property is transferred to a person outside the unit.
Suspicious Property: Any property existing under circumstances which create a
reasonable concern or likelihood it has some connection to a criminal act.
PROCEDURES
I. MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROHIBITIONS
GENERAL ORDER 42 PAGE 3 of 33
IMPOUNDING AND CONTROLLING OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE OCTOBER 6 , 2025\n\n--- Page 4 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
A. All Members –
1. Members shall seize property only when authorized to do so by Florida
Statute or Department written directive.
2. Members are deemed agents of the City of Tallahassee (COT) while
taking possession of found property, evidence, suspicious property, or
other items for impoundment.
3. Members are responsible for the safety and security of impounded items
under their control and shall ensure evidence is not contaminated
beginning from the time of seizure to the completion of impoundment.
4. Members handling and/or responsible for impounded items are
responsible for maintaining a documented chain of custody from the time
of Department possession until proper disposal.
5. Members must seal, mark, and label items for impound prior to
submission into evidence.
6. Members are authorized to make video, audio, or image recordings of
impounded items only for Department purposes.
7. When all of the following conditions are met, members are authorized to
destroy and properly dispose of drug paraphernalia in compliance with
applicable laws (i.e., littering) :
a. The item was abandoned or discarded, and no potential owner is
identifiable.
b. There is no criminal case associated with the drug paraphernalia.
c. There are no narcotics present.
d. A second officer (with an operational, activated body-worn camera) is
present to observe the destruction.
e. The destruction can be safely performed.
f. The officer performing the destruction completed detailed
documentation about the incident in the Computer Assisted Dispatch
(CAD) Report.
8. Members are required to promptly report the following situations to their
supervisor or, if more appropriate, the Watch Commander:
GENERAL ORDER 42 PAGE 4 of 33
IMPOUNDING AND CONTROLLING OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE OCTOBER 6 , 2025\n\n--- Page 5 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
a. Impounded property which is, or appears