When a defense attorney challenges the evidence in a multi-defendant case, chain-of-custody is what holds up — or doesn’t. See how ERIN7 gives digital forensics units court-ready documentation from intake to disposition.
Still on a Legacy System? Here’s What Switching to ERIN7 Actually Looks Like
If your agency is still running evidence tracking on a system from another era — or worse, on paper — you already know the daily cost. Here’s what switching to ERIN7 actually involves.
The Audit Trail Nobody Can Edit — Not Even Us
Most evidence systems write an audit log. Far fewer can tell you whether that log can be changed afterward — or by whom. ERIN7’s audit trail is append-only and hash-chained, so tampering isn’t merely prohibited. It’s detectable.
Run These 3 Reports Before Your Next Evidence Room Audit
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
How ERIN7 Builds a Wall Defense Attorneys Can’t Knock Down
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“Prove it’s untampered.” |
A defense attorney says those three words and every eye in the courtroom turns to your agency. If your answer lives in a three-ring binder, a handwritten sign-out sheet, or a collection of spreadsheets spread across different folders, you are already at a disadvantage. Paper gets lost. Handwriting gets misread. Spreadsheets do not record who made a change or when. None of that belongs in a courtroom. None of it needs to.
ERIN7 was built to answer that question — completely, instantly, and in court. Every single action taken on a piece of evidence is recorded by the system automatically, without anyone having to remember to write it down. The result is a chain-of-custody that is unbroken, tamper-evident, and always ready to produce.
This article explains what ERIN7 records, how to access those records when it matters most, and why the details built into the system make evidence challenges extremely difficult to sustain.
The Problem With Paper
Law enforcement has relied on paper-based evidence documentation for decades. Many agencies still do. And while paper works well enough in quiet times, it tends to fall apart under the pressure of a courtroom challenge.
Frank McCully, an investigator who oversees evidence operations at a New York sheriff’s office, described what it was like before his agency moved to a modern system. You can read his full account in our Madison County Sheriff’s Office case study. Officers would hand-fill property receipts, write out chain-of-custody forms by hand, and attach the paperwork to the item before it went to the evidence building. Someone there would enter it into software and put the item on a shelf. Every step was manual. Every step was a chance for error.
“The chain-of-custody, the continuity of that item and that paperwork, could make or break a case. There’s a lot of integrity built into the chain-of-custody for every single item that we receive into this building.”
(Customer Interview – Frank McCully, Madison County Sheriff’s Office)
The problems with paper are not theoretical. Handwriting gets misread. Fields get left blank. Documents get misplaced. There is no timestamp on a handwritten entry — just whatever date someone scribbled down, which may or may not be accurate. And if someone makes a change to a paper log, there is no record of what it said before the change was made.
A defense attorney does not need to prove the evidence was tampered with. They only need to create doubt. A missing entry, a crossed-out field, or a date that does not line up is enough to raise a question in a jury’s mind. ERIN7 eliminates those vulnerabilities.
What ERIN7 Records Automatically
Every time anyone in ERIN7 interacts with a piece of evidence, the system creates a permanent, timestamped record. This happens in the background, without any extra steps required from the user. There is no “log this action” button. It is always running.
For every transaction — check-in, check-out, transfer, move, disposal, or any status change — ERIN7 captures the following:
- Who performed the action, identified by their login
- What action was taken
- The exact date and time, recorded down to the second
- Where the item was moved from and where it was placed
- Any notes entered during the transaction
- Digital signatures on transactions where required
That last point matters more than it might seem. ERIN7 supports digital signatures collected through a touch screen, a Topaz Signature Pad, or a mouse-drawn signature. When an officer checks an item out for court, their signature is attached to that transaction. When it comes back in, the receiving officer’s signature is attached. The custody chain shows not just who handled the item, but who signed for it at every step.
Those records are append-only. No one can edit or delete an audit entry — not an administrator, and not ERIN Technology. See how ERIN7’s audit trail works.
Have more questions about how this works? Visit our Evidence Tracking FAQ for answers to common chain-of-custody questions.
How to Pull a Chain-of-Custody Report
When you need to show the court exactly what happened to a piece of evidence, the process in ERIN7 takes less than a minute. Navigate to the item record, locate the Chain-of-Custody tab, or select Chain-of-Custody Report from the report dropdown. The system generates a complete, chronological log of every action ever taken on that item — from the moment it was first entered to the present.
That report can be exported as a PDF or printed directly. It is formatted clearly, with every transaction listed in order, every user identified, and every timestamp visible. You do not summarize what happened to the evidence. You print the full record.
For agencies with large evidence rooms, the ability to search by case number, item number, or any other field and pull the relevant report in seconds is a significant operational advantage. In the middle of a trial, when an attorney or a judge asks for documentation, the answer is not “we’ll have to look into that.” It is a printed report, ready to go.
The Detail That Wins Cases: Custom Fields and Unique Identifiers
ERIN7 does more than track movement. It captures identifying details that make it nearly impossible for a defense attorney to argue that the wrong item was processed, or that the evidence in a photograph does not match what was actually collected.
A digital forensics unit, for example, can configure ERIN7 to capture the device type, the serial number, and the IMEI number of every phone or tablet that comes through intake. The IMEI number is unique to each device worldwide. If an attorney in court questions whether the device in an evidence photo is the same device that was processed and analyzed, the IMEI number recorded at intake — and matched in the lab report and the photograph — provides a definitive answer.
One forensics lab described exactly this scenario: seven defendants being tried at the same time, with defense attorneys challenging whether the evidence being presented was the same evidence that had been processed. Because unique identifiers had been recorded in ERIN7 at intake, cross-referenced in reports, and captured in photographs, the chain of evidence was airtight.
ERIN7 allows administrators to create as many custom fields as needed and organize them by item category. A drug evidence record can capture different fields than a firearm record, which can capture different fields than an electronic device record. Every field is configured once and then becomes a permanent part of the intake form for that category — ensuring that the right information is always collected consistently, not just when someone remembers to ask for it.
Government-Grade Security Backs Every Record
The integrity of evidence records is not just about what the software captures — it is also about where those records live and how they are protected. ERIN7 is hosted on Microsoft Azure Government Cloud, the same infrastructure used by federal, state, and local government agencies across the country. Every agency’s data is kept in its own separate database, completely isolated from other customers’ records.
All access to ERIN7 is encrypted using TLS 1.2 with 256-bit certificates. This means that data moving between your agency’s devices and the server cannot be intercepted or read by anyone outside the system. Learn more about our full compliance and security standards, including CJIS, FIPS 140-2, FedRAMP, and SOC 2 Type II certification.
These certifications matter in court. When the integrity of your records is questioned, you are not relying on a verbal assurance that the system is secure. You have the documentation to prove it.
What Happens When Items Are Disposed
Chain of custody does not end when an item leaves the evidence room for the last time. Disposal documentation is part of the legal record, and gaps in that documentation can create liability long after a case is closed.
In ERIN7, the disposal workflow captures the disposal method (destroyed, returned to owner, transferred to another agency, etc.), the officer who performed the disposal, a witness, the date, the time, and optional notes. Each of these fields is required before the system will complete the disposal process. Nothing can be skipped.
If an item is later un-disposed for any reason, ERIN7 preserves the original disposal record and documents the reason for the status change. The history is never overwritten — it accumulates, so the full lifecycle of every item is always visible.
Quick Reference: What ERIN7 Logs for Every Action
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Action |
What ERIN7 Records |
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Check-In |
User, date/time, storage location, received by, item status, notes, signature |
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Check-Out |
Issued by, taken by, date/time, reason, expected return date, signature |
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Transfer |
Delivered by, received by, new location, reason, date/time, signature |
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Move |
Delivered by, received by, new location, reason, date/time |
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Status Change |
What changed, who changed it, previous value, new value, when |
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Disposal |
Method, disposed by, witness, date/time, notes, signature |
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Undispose |
Reason for reversal, new status — original disposal record fully preserved |
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Any Field Edit |
Field name, old value, new value, user who made the change, timestamp |
The Bottom Line
Defense attorneys challenge evidence when they sense a gap — a missing log entry, an unexplained break in custody, a record that does not match a photograph. The challenge is rarely that the evidence was actually tampered with. It is that the documentation leaves room for doubt.
ERIN7 closes those gaps before they form. Every action is logged. Every user is identified. Every transaction is timestamped. Every signature is captured. The chain-of-custody report is one click away, ready to be printed and handed to a judge or placed in a case file.
When the challenge comes — and it will — your agency will not need to scramble for answers. The answers will already be there, organized, complete, and impossible to question.
Want to see how ERIN7’s chain-of-custody reporting works for your agency?
Contact ERIN Technology at (855) 558-3746 or visit erintechnology.com
ERIN7 Evidence Management Software | Built for Modern Agencies
ERIN7: The Evidence Management Software Built for the Way Modern Agencies Actually Work
Law enforcement and corrections agencies bear an enormous responsibility regarding evidence. A single mishandled item, a missing entry in the chain of custody, or a documentation gap can compromise an entire investigation, derail a prosecution, or expose an agency to serious legal and regulatory consequences. As caseloads grow, evidence rooms fill faster, and digital media becomes an ever-larger part of every investigation, the tools agencies rely on to manage evidence must keep pace.
ERIN7, developed by ERIN Technology LLC, is a comprehensive evidence management platform purpose-built for modern law enforcement agencies, corrections departments, and government organizations. It was designed not by software engineers working in a vacuum, but by evidence professionals who understand the daily pressures of running a compliant, audit-ready evidence operation. The result is a system that doesn’t just digitize old processes — it fundamentally improves them.
One Platform for Every Type of Evidence
One of the most persistent challenges facing evidence managers today is fragmentation. Physical evidence — firearms, narcotics, currency, clothing, documents — often lives in one system, while digital evidence — mobile devices, hard drives, body camera footage, surveillance video — is tracked separately, if at all, in a systematic way. The result is a patchwork of spreadsheets, binders, and disconnected software that creates accountability gaps and multiplies audit headaches.
ERIN7 solves this by bringing both physical and digital evidence management into a single, unified platform. Whether your agency is processing a firearm seized at a crime scene or ingesting terabytes of data from a forensic examination, ERIN7 handles it within the same system, under the same chain of custody framework, and with the same robust audit trail.
The platform supports a wide range of evidence types and workflows, including:
- Physical evidence intake, storage, and tracking
- Digital evidence storage, review, and transfer
- Barcode scanning and label printing directly to Zebra printers
- Case, item, and person management
- Evidence transfers, court check-outs, and returns
- Disposal and destruction workflows
- Inventory audits and discrepancy reporting
- API integrations with Records Management Systems (RMS) and other agency platforms
This breadth of capability means agencies no longer need to stitch together multiple products to manage their evidence room. ERIN7 is the single source of truth.
Chain of Custody: Built to Be Unbreakable
In evidence management, the chain of custody isn’t just paperwork — it’s the legal backbone of every case. A break in the chain can render evidence inadmissible, undermine witness credibility, and give defense attorneys grounds to challenge even the most straightforward prosecutions.
ERIN7 was architected with chain-of-custody integrity as a foundational principle, not an afterthought. Every action taken within the system — whether it’s checking an item out for court, transferring custody between personnel, conducting an audit scan, or updating a record — is automatically logged with a full before-and-after snapshot of the data. This creates an unalterable, time-stamped audit trail that documents exactly who did what, when, and what the record looked like before and after the action.
Key chain of custody features include:
- Unalterable audit logging — no record can be modified without creating a permanent log entry
- Full custody history tracking — view the complete lifecycle of any item from intake to disposal
- Barcode-based evidence movement — scan in/out workflows that reduce manual entry and human error
- Digital signature capture — electronic signatures confirm every transfer and custody handoff
- Automated inventory and discrepancy reporting — quickly identify missing, misplaced, or unaccounted-for items
This level of documentation means that when an attorney, auditor, or accreditation body asks for a complete record of an item’s history, ERIN7 produces it instantly and completely.
Cloud or On-Premises: Flexibility Without Compromise
Different agencies have different infrastructure needs and IT policies. Some are ready to move fully to the cloud. Others have legacy infrastructure, bandwidth constraints, or organizational policies that require on-premises installation. ERIN7 accommodates both without sacrificing functionality.
Microsoft Azure Government Cloud is ERIN7’s recommended deployment path for agencies seeking maximum security, compliance, and accessibility. Azure Government is specifically designed for public sector organizations and provides a security and compliance framework that meets or exceeds the rigorous standards law enforcement demands. ERIN7’s Azure-hosted deployment includes:
- CJIS-aligned security capabilities — meeting Criminal Justice Information Services security standards
- FIPS 140-2 encryption — federal-grade data protection for data at rest and in transit
- Backup redundancy every 15 minutes — minimizing data loss risk in any scenario
- Segregated customer databases — your agency’s data is never commingled with another agency’s
- Anywhere-access web architecture — secure access from any authorized device with a modern browser
For agencies that require or prefer local control, ERIN7’s on-premises installation delivers the same full feature set within the agency’s own infrastructure.
Unlimited Customization — No Programmers Required
No two agencies operate exactly alike. Policies differ. Workflows differ. The categories of evidence, the forms required for intake, and the approval chains for disposal — all of these vary by jurisdiction, agency size, and operational philosophy. Many evidence management systems force agencies to adapt their workflows to fit the software. ERIN7 takes the opposite approach.
Administrative users — not software developers — have complete control over how the system looks, behaves, and what data it captures. Through ERIN7’s administrative interface, authorized users can:
- Add unlimited custom fields to any screen or form
- Create role-specific screen configurations so each user sees exactly what they need
- Build custom workflows tailored to agency-specific processes
- Configure dashboards and widgets for at-a-glance operational visibility
- Design custom reports and evidence labels
- Create category-specific intake forms (a firearm form can look completely different from a digital evidence form)
- Set permissions on a granular level by role or physical site
This level of customization means ERIN7 adapts to your agency — not the other way around. And because no custom programming is required, agencies can make changes themselves as policies and needs evolve, without waiting on a vendor or paying for development time.
Mobile-Ready for the Field and the Evidence Room
Evidence work doesn’t happen only at a desktop terminal. Officers submit evidence in the field. Detectives pull case files from the road. Evidence technicians move through storage areas scanning hundreds of items during audits. A modern evidence management system needs to work everywhere people work — and ERIN7 does.
The platform is fully responsive and runs on any device with a modern web browser: smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop workstations. There’s no special app to install, and there are no device restrictions. Whether a staff member is on an iPhone, an Android tablet, or a Windows laptop, they get the same full-featured experience.
Mobile-specific capabilities include:
- Mobile barcode scanning using the device’s built-in camera
- Evidence reviews from the field — access case and item records from anywhere
- Digital media uploads directly from mobile devices
- Quick search and scan for fast item lookups during transfers or audits
For evidence technicians conducting large-scale physical inventories, the ability to walk through a storage room with a tablet and scan items in real time — while ERIN7 automatically flags discrepancies — is a dramatic efficiency improvement over paper-based or manual processes.
Built for Audits, Accreditation, and Compliance
Accreditation bodies, internal affairs offices, prosecuting attorneys, and oversight agencies all have one thing in common: they want documentation. The ability to prove, quickly and completely, that evidence was handled properly throughout its entire lifecycle is what separates agencies that pass audits with confidence from those that scramble to reconstruct records at the last minute.
ERIN7 is built audit-first. Every report an auditor or accreditor would want is either built into the system or can be created without programming through custom reporting tools. Inventory discrepancy reports identify items that are missing or out of place. Chain of custody reports provide a complete legal record for any item. Retention and disposition workflows ensure that evidence isn’t held longer than policy requires — and that disposal is properly documented when it occurs.
Investigator Brandy Jones of the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office describes the difference ERIN7 made in her agency’s compliance operations: “It has definitely made it a lot easier for me… the inventory, the scanning, the audits.”
Proven at Scale Across Agencies of All Sizes
ERIN7 is trusted by law enforcement and corrections agencies across North America, from small municipal police departments to large state-level corrections systems. Its architecture is designed to scale, handling everything from a department with a few hundred evidence items to operations managing tens of thousands of items every month.
The Georgia Department of Corrections Digital Forensics Unit, for example, processes an extraordinary volume of digital devices. Megan Radcliffe of that unit explains: “We’re receiving somewhere between 1,000 to 1,500 devices every single month… and ERIN has really helped us track all kinds of things.”
Whether an agency needs to track a modest evidence room or manage enterprise-scale digital forensics operations, ERIN7 delivers the same reliability, auditability, and performance.
The Technical Foundation Agencies Can Trust
ERIN7 is built on a modern, maintainable technology stack: Microsoft .NET Core and SQL Server, with a responsive web architecture that reflects current best practices in enterprise software development. This matters because agencies investing in an evidence management platform are making a long-term commitment. A platform built on modern, widely supported technologies is far less likely to become obsolete or unsupported than one built on legacy frameworks.
Direct integration with Zebra label printers allows evidence labels to print without the intermediate PDF step that slows down other systems. Advanced search capabilities let users locate evidence by case number, item barcode, person name, category, serial number, and more — making it fast to find exactly what’s needed without wading through records manually.
SOC 2 and HECVAT Certified: Security You Can Document
For agencies that must satisfy procurement officers, IT security teams, or institutional stakeholders before adopting a new platform, ERIN7 goes beyond mere claims of security — it can prove it.
ERIN7 is SOC 2 compliant, meaning it has undergone an independent third-party audit against the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Trust Services Criteria. SOC 2 certification examines how a software platform manages customer data across five key areas: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Achieving SOC 2 compliance is not a checkbox exercise — it requires demonstrating that controls are not only in place but are operating effectively over time. For law enforcement and government agencies, this provides a vendor-neutral, auditor-verified assurance that ERIN7’s security practices meet rigorous professional standards.
ERIN7 also completes the HECVAT (Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Tool), a standardized security questionnaire widely used by higher education institutions and increasingly adopted by government and public sector procurement teams to evaluate third-party technology vendors. HECVAT responses address data governance, incident response, encryption practices, business continuity, and more — providing procurement and IT security teams with a comprehensive, structured view of how ERIN7 manages data security and risk.
Together, SOC 2 compliance and HECVAT completion mean that when your agency’s IT department, legal counsel, or procurement office asks the hard questions about vendor security, ERIN7 has the documentation to answer them. These certifications are especially valuable in environments where formal vendor risk assessments are required before a contract can be signed, reducing the time and friction involved in getting a new system approved and deployed.
Ready to Modernize Your Evidence Management?
Whether your agency is currently managing evidence in spreadsheets, using an outdated legacy system, or simply looking for a platform that can grow with your needs, ERIN7 offers a proven, modern solution designed specifically for the demands of law enforcement and corrections work.
The combination of a rigorous chain of custody framework, unlimited customization, cloud and on-premises deployment options, mobile accessibility, and a compliance-first design makes ERIN7 one of the most capable and adaptable evidence management platforms available today.
Contact ERIN Technology LLC to schedule a demo and see ERIN7 in action:
855-558-3746 
www.erintechnology.com
See how ERIN7 can simplify evidence management, reduce administrative workload, and strengthen chain of custody integrity across your organization.
The Sherriff Office’s Roadmap To State Accreditation Using ERIN7’s Streamlined Evidence Handling Software
Investigator Brandi Jones is a 16-year veteran of the Rockdale County Sherriff’s Office in Georgia. As the primary evidence custodian in the property and evidence division, she shares her experience with best practices for developing their state accreditation process.
How important is a good evidence management system?
Records storage isn’t just about property and evidence. It’s about people’s lives. Homicide evidence must be stored for 50 years, for example, so we need a reliable evidence process. We’re not dealing with just records storage. We’re dealing with people’s lives. And that’s why a good system is critical for everyone involved. Evidence provides answers. People want answers. They want the CSI effect. We have cases of evidence that can put a criminal away for 20 years. Or a cold case depends on stored evidence for a reinvestigation potentially 20 years from now! With ERIN7 I have the evidence from police cases with the same integrity as the day we did the original evidence gathering. The officer in charge could go back and maybe exonerate someone or confirm their conviction.Are evidence items easier to track with ERIN7?
Much easier! For example, if I had a case come in with three bags of marijuana, a pipe, and a book bag, we used to enter all of those items under one barcode label. That made it almost impossible to keep track of each of the items of evidence. With the new ERIN7, it is easier for me to separate those items, and each becomes its own entity with its own barcode. You couldn’t go into the evidence collection and remove the book bag or lose track of it. That label still shows in the system. No matter what it is, in a property and evidence room every item needs to be accounted for. That shows the integrity and confidence level of your room. When the auditors come from the state, they look at everything. The ERIN7 system is an open book that follows the accreditation process so nothing can be hidden. That builds confidence and credibility in your culture of evidence management.How Does ERIN7 help with State Accreditation Practices?
Annual evidence unit audits, updates, and basic evidence in inventory are a lot to contend with. The new ERIN7 system definitely helps with the inventory, the scanning, and the audits. My auditors can join in and be a part of it which removes me, the primary evidence custodian, from security concerns of actually seeing anything. It makes it harder to falsify anything or to do anything wrong. Before we had ERIN7, we had to run reports and print 300 pieces of paper on everything that was in my evidence room. The auditor had to go through each piece of paper manually. Keeping all that filing correct was an evidence room operations headache.Do all ERIN7 evidence unit personnel see the same thing?
I can allow people to join with certain privileges, especially during the audit time. Some can see the audit while others just see the inventory. It is highly organized so we can find what we need quickly. I can just go into the inventory itself, or use tools to scan different ways. I can even scan the actual location itself, such as drug box 15 of 2022. It’s just so much easier. It shows you everything that’s supposed to be in there or not in there, and then it prints out a nice little report that includes the chain of custody.How has ERIN7 digital evidence management saved time?
At least a week every year. I have to have a 100% audit of my drugs, guns, money, and high-end items. ERIN7 cut it down to a week for that. It’s definitely been beneficial. Before ERIN7 we went through some issues with some items being misplaced and things like that. ERIN7 has improved that and given the officers more credibility. For example, my commander has privileges to come in and see everything that I’ve done, that I’ve entered, that I’ve taken out. ERIN7 backs you up and says, “This is what happened to this item. This is where it went. This is the date it went.” It makes everything a little bit easier because they do have more access to the system and see the operations.When we got ERIN7 with the advanced features, I was like, “Wow, we’ve been missing a lot!”
Has ERIN7 helped in other ways?
My yes! One captain found it much easier to search and find info. For example, getting com stats and the analysis of the number of guns we collected, how many suspects were arrested, etc. With limited privileges, users can do a search on how many firearms they took in during a specific timeframe. We post those stats on our web page for the public to see. These advancements have made work easier and more efficient for a lot of different divisions. We can measure and report on things we never could before.Is ERIN7 easy to use?
Very! Even casual users find it easy to navigate and get the info they need. The system is simple to maneuver, and if you’re looking for something specific, you just hit your search button. It’s a very easy system to work with.Does ERIN7 preserve history and knowledge?
That is a very important feature of ERIN7. Any time we need something, it’s there. That was my biggest security concern. You shouldn’t require the property and evidence clerk to know everything, because what if something happened to them? A couple of years ago our sergeant was in charge of everything, and something happened to him. Everybody was at a loss. “Oh, my gosh, what do we do now? Where do we go now?” After that, everything had to change and it was a traumatic event for us. That won’t happen with ERIN7 because it stores everything and most everyone can self-service already.What tips would you have for someone starting a search for the perfect program?
My three top tips for law enforcement agencies making a move to a digital evidence management system are:- Technical assistance. When you have any issues, you want an immediate, helpful response. Vet the vendor’s support service response time.
- Ease-of-use. I have so much evidence to enter every day, so the system needs to be work-friendly and easy to operate.
- Ability to meet accreditation requirements. ERIN7 helps us meet all the accreditation standards to pass and stay accredited.
How is the technical support from Erin Technology?
Excellent. They’ve always been a big help, no matter what I need from them. With the new ERIN7, there was a learning process. Their attitude is “Anything you need!” I count on them a lot.What other department goals has ERIN7 helped you achieve?
- Checks and balances are crucial. ERIN7 has all the checks and balances we need. For example, on my desktop, I can see my total inventory or my “items ready for disposal” or the ones in “temporary locations.” ERIN7 lays out everything. No more guessing.
- Knowing precisely what I have in inventory. How many cases do I have? It has “cases for review,” and “cases with review for 31 to 91 days upcoming.” It’s a database that has everything.
- Knowing which cases are obsolete. It knows which cases are ready for disposal. It helps us purge the junk.
Feel free to share if you find this interview helpful. Get in touch with us if you have any questions.
Madison County Sheriff, NY Trades Paperwork for DEMS
A big part of my job was making sure paperwork was filled out correctly. It wasn’t efficient. Everyone hated the re-work. Then this happened.
How To Secure Your Agency From Legal Obstacles And Public Scorn?
Is your agency overwhelmed by the influx of both digital and physical evidence? Are you seeking a better way to organize, document, and manage your inventory?
Keeping up with almost insurmountable evidence can be daunting, and an inadequate management system only exacerbates the issue.
Redundant processes, excessive paper trails, inaccurate data, lost evidence, and compromised chain of custody can cause numerous issues, including risking case integrity, agency embarrassment, and even internal corruption.
In November 2019, it was revealed that dozens of deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office failed to book evidence they collected and, in several cases falsified police reports by stating that the evidence had been entered. One investigator kept evidence, including heroin and paraphernalia, locked in an office desk drawer.
The law enforcement evidence management function exists for an agency to receive, catalog, store, and maintain the integrity of evidence and property. This allows for effective prosecution as well as confirming innocence.
Even after disposition of a case, agencies have the legal obligation to restore property to rightful owners or facilitate the legal disposition of property in their possession.
The collection of both physical and digital evidence creates procedural demands to which law enforcement must strictly adhere.
Traditionally, all this information has been cataloged and stored in logbooks, paper documentation, file folders and evidence boxes using manual processes. However, manual documentation is time consuming, labor intensive, and prone to mishandling. Evidence also has a way of being misplaced—temporarily or permanently— which can result in acquittals or liability issues.
In 2019, a Walnut Creek officer mishandled evidence in dozens of cases. The first case in which a bag of Vicodin, glass pipes, suspected liquid heroine and syringes were found, the officer often held off on booking video or photos into evidence until a property technician reminded him. Investigators reviewed a total of 116 cases from 2015 and 2016 in which the officer handled video or photo evidence. Out of 116 cases, investigators found 31 in which the officer failed to book items into evidence.
Traditionally, a chain of custody records only how evidence is submitted, stored, and disposed of. These traditional records often lack any documentation about the process of evidence management itself, such as the security of evidence in custody, the quality of the facility and storage environments, and records of accountability.
This can weaken the defensibility of evidence in court, and the ability to utilize evidence to craft a clear timeline tied to the evidence crime becomes exceedingly difficult. When such questions arise, reasonable doubt is created, impacting the prosecution’s ability to clear cases in a timely manner.
Evidence is only as good as its chain of custody. In many cases, evidence mismanagement is the result of systemic problems behind processing, tracking, and storing of evidence.
This places extraordinarily strong requirements on the integrity of the chain of custody, the personnel involved, and the duty of care of the organization responsible.
For those in law enforcement, chain of custody can come to be regarded as a rudimentary concept. Cases of mishandled evidence are all too common.
Evidence room audits across the country continue to reveal instances of missing evidence resulting in the dismissal of criminal cases, and each case further erodes the public’s trust in law enforcement.
In 2022, it was revealed that the Fall River Police Department had lost two years of drug-case evidence, explaining that the controlled-buy logs for 2019 and 2020 had gone missing. The investigation began after an alarming volume of unsecured oxycodone, amphetamines, heroin, crack cocaine, and fentanyl were located in a detective’s desk.
What is Evidence Management?
Evidence chain of custody is an essential, fundamental practice of our criminal justice system. It allows the state to verify the authenticity of evidence and prove that it has not been altered or damaged while in law enforcement custody, in any way that could disrupt a criminal case.
In 2017, a Novato, California Police Officer repeatedly lost or failed to book evidence such as body-worn camera recordings, photos, witness statements, and a voicemail threat made against a victim. This happened despite several instances when he stated in his reports that he had booked items into evidence.
Each agency has an obligation to store and protect evidence in its custody, and equally important, an obligation to legally dispose of the property. Best practices for the various aspects of the evidence and property function cannot be overstated.
Evidence management is a critical facet of the criminal justice system and one of the most important jobs in the entire police operation. At every stage, handlers of evidence must ensure that it has not been compromised, contaminated, or degraded and that its chain of custody is tracked.
A fired Orange County sheriff’s deputy plead guilty to a reduced charge of filing a false police report after he wrote that he booked evidence when he had not. An investigation revealed widespread failure of deputies to book evidence on time, if at all.
Using logbooks or spreadsheets to manage huge volumes of evidence is no longer justifiable. The proper management of evidence is so important to agencies, that formal standards for the management, administration, and handling of evidence are now an essential part of operations.
Chronological documentation of chain of custody begins with seizure and continues beyond its production in court until its retention by law enforcement ends.
An effective evidence management system can successfully thwart chain of custody challenges by third parties. Failure to apply proper standards to evidence processing can threaten the integrity of a case and trigger severe criticism of the agency.
In early 2020, the Salisbury Police Department released details about a civilian police department employee accused of stealing items from the department’s evidence facility. The employee had stolen $260,000 from an evidence storage facility.
An effective evidence management system not only documents evidence, but can bring together all the evidence data related to a specific case in an easily accessible repository. Policy-based controls ensures that only evidence data relevant to a specific case can be accessed by those authorized to do so.
What is Evidence Management Software?
Best Practices for evidence management include detailed documentation, automation, better accountability, and efficient workflows. Evidence management software can help implement and facilitate such practices.
Evidence Management software is a digital solution that is designed to easily manage the evidence management process in an accurate and timely manner. It keeps everything in a centralized database that streamlines the vital process of maintaining evidence.
This is done through automation of evidence-related tasks, including storing, editing, updating, viewing, analyzing, and sharing evidence and information easily.
Evidence Management ensures that law-enforcement and prosecutorial entities can get all the evidence they need, when they need it, to do their jobs effectively and in accordance with the law.
The digitizing of evidence also reduces the need to handle the original evidence until it is presented. This reduction of handling lessens the likelihood of deliberate tampering or accidental contamination and reduces chain of custody requirements.
An audit of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office covering three years found that 27% of the investigated deputies waited 31 days or longer before booking evidence. Nearly 300 items were not booked for more than a month during the audit period. A second review, which included a sampling of 450 reports, found that deputies in 57 cases said they had booked the evidence when they had not.
Improving the storage and documentation of evidence in custody is more important now than ever. Implementing a more rigorous chain of custody process will help ensure the integrity of evidence in any agency’s custody and improve outcomes of legal cases.
An evidence management system can effectively manage the investigative and forensic process with a complete audit trail of all physical and digital property and evidence from the point of capture, right through to court and final disposal.
Paper documentation and outdated software systems are becoming outdated. With modern technology and automation around every corner, agencies that maintain antiquated processes often find themselves in the headlines.
What to Look For?
Consider these features when deciding if your Physical and Digital Evidence Management Software enables you to meet the needs of modern policing:
- Responsive and efficient, allowing you to work from anywhere and on any internet connected device.
- Includes an integrated system with the chain of custody.
- Site management of multiple sites allowing for managing separate physical inventory locations.
- Custom-tailored dashboard to display important inventory statistics with info-boxes and customizable widgets to easily access detailed information about your evidence.
- Intuitive and completely browser-based evidence solution that allows you to enter, view and edit records, print reports, barcode labels, and more via the web browser of your choice.
- An automated review to send notifications when cases are up for review, making the review and disposal process faster and more efficient.
- A professional, robust search function for any data in the system.
- Report customization module to design your own reports or edit standard system reports such as Chain of Custody, Barcode Labels, Inventory Discrepancy Reports, and many more according to your needs.
Specific Solution
ERIN Technology’s ERIN7 is an end-to-end chain of custody software system for physical and digital evidence, providing fast and accurate data collection and control for evidence tracking and maintaining property, evidence, and inventory. We make the transition seamless and easy to use with consultation, implementation, training, and data integration.
Please contact us today to find out how your business can benefit from our services.
10 Ways Mobile Forensics Can Benefit Your Law Enforcement Agency
Cell phones are everywhere and they often contain information law enforcement professionals need to solve crimes.
People don’t do anything without their smartphones. When one shows up at a crime scene, you need to know how to use it for your investigation, and track all the actions completed for the chain-of-custody. Proper chain-of-custody documentation for mobile devices is critical — learn how ERIN7 handles digital evidence tracking from intake through disposal.
Mobile forensics helps you use smartphones and other mobile devices to apprehend criminals or terrorists. Law enforcement once had to pound the pavement for hours to get information. The same information is often available on cell phones.
Don’t believe us? Check out these 10 ways cell phone forensics makes your job easier and faster. Proper use of mobile tools can mean the difference between life and death.
1. Mobile Forensics Tracks Victims
When you have a kidnapping by a non-custodial parent or runaway situation, time is of the essence. Every second that ticks by means your victim is in more danger. Before mobile phone forensics, police relied on information from friends and family, eye witness reports and credit card tracking.
These are still important tools, but GPS information on cell phones can help you find your victims much faster, or find out the location of your runaway without all the extra work.
Time is always against law enforcement. Cellular forensics can help turn the tide.
2. Find Out Their Timeline
When investigating a case, knowing the previous locations of a victim or suspect is vital. If a suspect’s alibi relies on him being at a certain place at a certain time, then using mobile phone data can determine if he’s telling the truth.
To determine the timeline of a victim’s last night, cell phone pings can paint a picture of their last night or week. Mobile forensic tools can create a road map that you can use in your investigation, and keep track of all that has happened to a phone for the chain-of-custody record.
3. Find Out Who People Talked To
Cell phone records are invaluable to modern criminal investigations. With proper court documents, you can get a list of phone records, texts and more to help with your investigation.
They help support your investigative theories. It clears a person of interest or helps determine the perpetrator of the crime. You can find out who was the last person the victim talked to or verify the suspect talked to the victim before the crime.
Law enforcement officers use cell phone records routinely. They are an important part of clearing suspects and closing cases.
4. Gather Evidence from Cell Phones
People use cell phones for everything. In fact, 3/4 of adults own a cell phone and they look up information on Google and store pictures on them. They are a treasure trove of potential evidence.
Law enforcement officers have discovered suspects often look up where to find ropes, duct tape, etc., on their phone before a kidnapping.
People don’t realize how important cell phones can be in a criminal case. They make mistakes and assume that no one will find out.
Pictures tell you who their friends are, places they visit and much more. There are apps for everything. Investigators find amazing evidence from the contents of a cell phone.
5. Find Out Criminal Activity from Cell Phones
Cell phones are miniature computers. They have processing power and capabilities far beyond checking Facebook and snapping selfies. Criminals can use them for identity theft, illegal surveillance, and many more crimes.
If a forensic scientist gets a cell phone, they use it to find out if it has been used for crimes.
They can dig into the data and discover hidden information the criminal tried to hide or delete. Cell phones are important for investigations and must be tracked with the chain-of-custody just like any other evidence item.
6. Paint a Picture with Cell Phone Images
When a criminal act happens in a large area, people take pictures and videos as it happens, and before. It could be a fight in an alley or a bombing of a public place.
Many high-profile bombing cases used cell phone images and videos to create a picture of what happened. They see where people were, any unusual activity or items and much more. It’s a way to recreate an event even though you weren’t there at the time.
7. Criminals Post Incriminating Evidence Using Cell Phones
Cell phones and social media go hand in hand. Millions of people use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and more every day. Most people post mundane activities or funny memes. Criminals often use it to brag about their crimes.
They assume no one will see it, but police use these posts in criminal proceedings. They take cell phone videos using firearms, drugs and showing off their loot.
Cell phones are small, unlike traditional video cameras. It’s easy to take it out and make a short video that puts them in prison.
8. Get Leads with Text-A-Tip
It’s not always easy for people to talk to the police. Face-to-face and phone conversations intimidate people. Police need tips from the public to solve cases and text-a-tip programs help make it more discreet.
In today’s digital culture, texting is easier than talking. Police receive tips from cell phone text messages that help solve cases. They send confidential and anonymous texts to police and avoid meeting or talking to people.
9. Increased Crime Reporting
Before cell phones, people needed to find a phone to report a crime. They walked several blocks to find a phone, left the victim alone and other issues that hampered the investigation.
Now, cell phones let them report crimes as they happen anywhere in the world. Someone gets attacked in a rural cornfield. If they call 911, they can get their location and send help.
People record crimes as they happen. They take pictures of license plates and more.
10. Saves Time and Effort
When you’re in the field, time is of the essence. No matter what the crime, the longer it takes to solve, the colder the trail gets. What used to take hours of manual police work may now take only minutes.
Mobile phone forensics speeds up the investigation process. Instead of spending hours asking witnesses about someone’s whereabouts, you know it from cell phone records. Track people in real time instead of hours after they’ve gone.
Never Underestimate the Power of Cell Phones
Mobile forensics is growing in use and scope for investigations. Software developed to crack cell phones, examine data and track people get used daily by law enforcement in large cities and small rural communities.
If you’re interested in learning more about cell phone forensics and tracking, or law enforcement technology, feel free to explore ERIN7’s evidence tracking capabilities or contact us to schedule a demo.