Is your evidence room actually audit-ready — or do you just hope it is?
For evidence room managers, audits are one of the most stressful events of the year. When an auditor walks through that door, you need more than a clean room. You need documented proof that every item is accounted for, every location is accurate, and every chain of custody is intact.
The good news: if your agency uses ERIN7, you already have everything you need. Three built-in reports can tell you exactly where you stand — before the auditor arrives. Run them regularly, and audit day stops being a source of anxiety and starts being a formality.
Here’s how to use each one.
Why Pre-Audit Reports Matter
Most evidence room problems don’t start on audit day. They build up slowly — items stored in the wrong location, cases overdue for review, barcodes that were never scanned. By the time an auditor flags them, they’ve already become a problem.
Running these three reports before your audit gives you time to find discrepancies, correct them, and document that you did. That’s not just good practice — it’s the kind of proactive record-keeping that protects your agency and your career.
“We are glad we switched over to this program as it helped us get organized and accredited through our state for the first time.”
— Det. Lonnie Tuthill, Jr., Greene County Sheriff’s Office, VA
Report 1: Inventory Discrepancy Report
Where to find it: Navigation Menu → Tools → Discrepancy Reports
This is the most important report you’ll run before any audit. It compares what ERIN7 says should be in each storage location against what is physically there. Any mismatch shows up immediately — color coded so you can see the problem at a glance.
How to run it:
- Click into Discrepancy Reports from the Tools menu.
- Give the report a name (required) and select the storage location you want to audit. You can type or scan a location label. Multiple locations can be added to a single report.
- Scan all the items in that location. You can do this in real time with a connected scanner, or use the Start Batch Scan option to scan offline and upload the results.
- When scanning is complete, click the Inventory button to generate the discrepancy report.
Reading the results:
The report uses a simple color system:
- 🟢 Green — Active Items: Barcodes scanned and confirmed in the correct location. These are fine.
- 🟠 Orange — Not Scanned: Items ERIN7 expected to find in this location but were not scanned. These need to be located.
- 🔴 Red — Wrong Location: Items scanned in a location that doesn’t match the system record. These need to be moved or updated.
💡 Pro Tip: Export the report to PDF before you start making corrections. This gives you a before-and-after record that shows auditors you identified and resolved issues proactively. You can also add notes to each line item in the report, save it, and come back to it as you work through corrections. Audit reports are saved permanently in the system.
Report 2: Random Inventory Audit Report
Where to find it: Navigation Menu → Tools → Inventory Audit
Where the Discrepancy Report checks specific locations, the Inventory Audit Report checks specific categories of items — like firearms, cell phones, or narcotics — across your entire inventory. This is ideal for high-value or high-risk item classes that deserve extra scrutiny before an audit.
How to run it:
- Click New Report and give it a name.
- Select the item category you want to audit (e.g., firearms, currency, drugs).
- Select a location — specific or all locations.
- Set a receive date range if you want to limit the audit to items received in a certain timeframe.
- Choose an audit percentage — 100% to check every item, or 50% for a random sample.
- Click Next to generate the list.
Important notes:
- Audit reports in ERIN7 are saved permanently and cannot be deleted. This is intentional — it creates a clean, tamper-proof audit trail.
- Run separate reports for different categories. You cannot mix categories or audit percentages in a single report.
💡 Pro Tip: Use the 100% audit option for firearms, narcotics, and currency — your highest-accountability categories. A 50% random sample may be sufficient for lower-risk categories like clothing or general property.
Report 3: Case Review Status Report
Where to find it: Navigation Menu → Settings → Agency Settings → Case Review Settings
This one often gets overlooked, but it may be the report that prevents the most audit findings. If cases in your system have items that are long overdue for review or disposition, that’s a red flag for any auditor — and a sign of growing backlog problems.
The Case Review dashboard in ERIN7 shows every case broken down by status:
- Cases with no review date set
- Cases with past due review dates
- Cases with upcoming review dates
- Cases with all items still in storage
- Cases with no items
How to use this before an audit:
- Start with Past Due These are your biggest risk. Open each case, check the items, and either update the review date with a note or begin the disposition process if items are eligible.
- Work through cases with no review date set. Assign a review date and add a note explaining the status. An auditor seeing blank review dates is a concern — even if the items themselves are fine.
- Run through cases eligible for disposal and clear what you can. Aim for a one-to-one ratio of items checked in versus items disposed. This keeps your inventory from growing out of control.
“The search function alone is one of my favorite features to quickly find any data on a particular piece of evidence or property.”
— Marie Little, Evidence Custodian, Elmira Police Dept., NY
Before the Auditor Arrives: Quick Checklist
- Run the Inventory Discrepancy Report for all active storage locations
- Correct any orange (not scanned) and red (wrong location) items
- Export and save the before/after discrepancy PDFs
- Run the Inventory Audit Report for high-value categories (firearms, narcotics, currency)
- Review and clear past-due case reviews
- Assign review dates to any cases that are missing them
- Identify and process items eligible for disposal
Built for Audit Readiness from Day One
ERIN7 was designed with audit compliance as a core feature — not an afterthought. Every check-in, check-out, move, and transfer is automatically logged with a time stamp and user signature. You can’t alter the chain of custody record. You can’t delete an audit report. Every action taken in the system creates a permanent, searchable trail.
That’s what CJIS compliance and SOC 2 Type II certification look like in practice.
If your current system makes you nervous before an audit, it may be time to see how ERIN7 handles it.
Ready to see ERIN7 in action?
Schedule a free demo and see how audit-ready your evidence room can be.
Book Your Demo → erintechnology.com
(855) 558-3746