Forensics is the application of scientific knowledge to crime investigations.

THE RIGHT WAY

Standard procedures, as per the National Association of Police Chiefs and the FBI:

• Place evidence in sealed containers to minimize contamination. Record time and date evidence is collected and initial container.
• Give evidence to evidence room custodian or supervisor and get receipt for it.
• Custodian must precisely catalogue each item, give it an ID number, record the number and place the item in the evidence room.
• Clothing wet from blood or other fluids must be air-dried in well-ventilated, secure area.
• Forensic experts who take evidence to work with it must sign for it with the evidence room custodian. When the evidence is brought back to the evidence room the custodian must sign for it.
• Police officers or forensic detectives who enter evidence room must always be accompanied by custodian.

THE WRONG WAY

• Each detective in the V.I. Police Department has an area of the evidence room and freely goes in and out. They are individually responsible for keeping track of and accounting for their own cases' evidence.
• No custodian keeps track or logs in entries and exits.
• Wet evidence clothing is hung in a poorly ventilated bathroom in the police station.
• In 30 of 100 cases in the Virgin Islands reviewed by the Inspector General, evidence including cash, weapons, narcotics and audio-visual equipment could not be located or accounted for and 34 firearms sent to Forensics for analysis were missing.