Police criticised for handling of evidence

Police are being criticised for the way they treat evidence, including guns and cash. Photo / File

Police bosses have taken to task officers poor handling of evidence used in court cases after drugs were stolen from police exhibit rooms.

Fairfax is reporting police are being criticised for the way they treat evidence, including guns and cash, after a nationwide stocktake of exhibits has revealed a troubling culture among those handling the items.

This included a lack of personal accountability with the attitude among the ranks being "If it's important, management will monitor it; until then it's not important to me."

According to a report released under the Official Information Act an exhibit audit was ordered at the end of 2014 after security risks emerged within the force.

These included an investigation after methamphetamine and ecstasy went missing from a Huntly police station safe and a Whangarei policeman jailed for switching methamphetamine with rock salt to give to a drug-dealing informant.

As a result police have overhauled policies for keeping tabs on evidence, commissioning a new computer system to track and audit exhibits, ordering a second stocktake of ageing evidence, and starting work on improving evidence storage facilities.

The report focuses on incidents involving cash, drugs and firearms at police station lock-ups and temporary storage units.

Details of those incidents and changes to storage facilities have not been revealed as police are concerned it will alert criminals about where and how evidence against them is stored.

Criminal bar association president Tony Bouchier said lawyers' clients frequently complained of getting broken phones and electronics back from police storage.

It took many months to get back seized exhibits with people often giving up on trying to recover their property, he said.

The national manager of response and operations Superintendent Chris Scahill told Fairfax the review was proactive and identified opportunities for improvement.