"Every hand it passes through must be documented – you break the chain, you break the case."
Quotes like the one above are something fans of Police Procedural shows hear in almost every episode. Clearly the importance of proper evidence handling is paramount in the legal process from its initial collection by law enforcement to any downstream handling in labs, court, law offices or wherever it may go – including the possible long-term storage in a cold facility where it may be preserved for a future day where more evidence might lead to making it relevant in an old, unsolved case.
Without saying it, it’s clear that a process like this is a sensitive one, involving labels, packaging, tracking of movement (“delivery”), storage location, categorization and more.
