Enhance Storage Capacities with Long-Term Evidence Storage

The Need for Space-Efficient Long-Term Evidence Storage

Many law enforcement agencies recognize the importance of secure, organized, and space-efficient long-term evidence storage. Evidence must be stored efficiently and securely to ensure that it can be brought to court when needed. If items get damaged or go missing—especially high-risk items like narcotics and guns—the law enforcement agency could be held liable and face damage to its reputation, not to mention the possible obstruction of justice.

Nevertheless, property and evidence rooms can often become overcrowded. Many facilities store upwards of 100,000 items, with thousands more coming yearly. As this addition far outstrips the rate of evidence disposal, storage space fills up rapidly, and eventually, facilities run out of room and must seek new evidence storage solutions.

Insufficient storage space in a property and evidence room creates multiple problems. First, the solutions are typically costly when a facility runs out of space to store evidence. They can move evidence to an offsite storage facility, which may be less secure, especially with the added need to transport the evidence back and forth. Or a law enforcement agency may choose to expand their facility or construct a new, larger facility altogether.

Another problem often caused by crowded storage space is disorganization. When storage space runs out, new evidence items may be stored haphazardly wherever, such as on the floor or on top of the shelving. This disorganization creates higher risks of evidence getting misplaced or damaged, not to mention making it more challenging to locate and retrieve needed items.

With these problems in mind, it becomes clear that an efficient long-term evidence storage system is essential to keep the property and evidence rooms organized and secure. High-density evidence shelving is a space-saving solution perfectly suited to solve these problems and meet long-term evidence storage needs. 

High-density mobile shelving is a solution designed to maximize storage space by compacting together and eliminating static aisle space. Shelving units are mounted on mobile carriages that slide on floor tracks, compacting the shelving together when not in use and maintaining one movable access aisle. The shelving system opens to access the desired shelf using a manual handle or a push-button for powered systems.

High-density compact shelving can be used in various applications, including long-term evidence storage. The primary benefit of the high-density shelving is space savings, but it also comes in a variety of configurations that facilitate organized storage of various types of evidence, and built-in security features ensure secure storage of evidence. You can read more about high-density shelving systems here. 

Benefits of High-Density Shelving for Long-Term Evidence Storage

Maximizes Existing Floor Space

These space savings are crucial for property and evidence rooms that are filled to capacity and may eliminate the need to seek offsite storage or build a new facility.

High-density shelving is also an excellent investment for new construction. When new property and evidence facilities are being constructed, they must have the capacity to accommodate the evidence storage needs for decades to come. Installing high-density evidence shelving is a cost-effective way to maximize the storage capacity in a new facility and ensure that it will have space to house future inventory for the years to come. 

Improves Organization

High-density evidence shelving also improves organization in property and evidence rooms. First, by eliminating the issue of overcrowding and insufficient storage space, high-density shelving provides space for each item to be stored in the proper place and manner.

High-density shelving systems are also available in different configurations to accommodate all types of evidence, from small items stored in envelopes to handguns and rifles to large and bulky items. And for a more cost-effective solution, you can incorporate your existing static evidence shelving into a high-density storage system.

With configurations to efficiently organize and store all types of evidence, high-density shelving systems can improve the organization of a property and evidence room. This improved organization means that needed items can be quickly and easily located, accessed, and retrieved. Items are less likely to be misplaced or lost, preventing delays in executing justice. 

Increases Security

When it comes to long-term evidence storage, one must mitigate the risks of evidence being misplaced and unauthorized personnel accessing it, especially when storing high-risk items such as narcotics, firearms, currency, etc. Fortunately, high-density shelving ensures secure evidence storage.

The high-density evidence shelving system can lock, restricting access to the compacted shelves. You can control access to the evidence storage using a touchpad or key switch. And with the availability of multiple shelving configurations for storing various kinds of evidence, you can secure high-risk items such as narcotics and firearms separately from less sensitive items. The security features of high-density evidence shelving help protect the chain of custody and mitigate the risk of unauthorized access to stored evidence.