Process Improvement for the Property Management Division’s Annual Inventory of Property and Evidence

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

Annual inventories of the 60,000 Square Foot Property Warehouse are vital to the Division, Office, and County. The purpose of the annual inventory is to ensure accounting for all items of property and evidence in the custody of the Property Warehouse. The MCSO PMD stores over 450,000 items. The 2020 annual inventory spanned over 12 months, utilized 17 staff, and over 440 hours of overtime. In 2021, a new box management process was implemented for storing Homicides and other large cases. The purpose of box management is to take several items of evidence from one case, group them together in one box, and then seal and barcode the exterior of the box. This process eliminates the requirement of locating, moving, and scanning multiple items of evidence throughout the warehouse. It also preserves the integrity of the evidence, maintains the chain of custody, and prevents premature disposal. The 2021 and 2022 annual inventories spanned over 6 months, utilized 13 staff, and accrued zero hours of overtime. Successes from the new process include reducing inventory time by 50% and staff by 23.5%, eliminating 880 work hours and $24,000 in overtime, increasing productivity, and preserving evidence.