IAPE Monthly Newsletter & Updates
Janaury 2022
Ask Joe...Each month, IAPE's primary instructor and Executive Director, Joe Latta, answers one of your questions pertaining to your everyday property and evidence room questions.
To submit a question for Joe, Contact Us
Dear Joe,
We have a new Captain over the property room and she recently asked me a question about our budget and was questioning why we were spending so much on postage. It was explained to her all our correspondence with citizens to retrieve their property was mailed using registered mail. The next question from the Captain. "Is there a legal reason we are sending registered mail?" To which I responded, “that's what we've always done!” My question to IAPE is this, are we required to send all of our communications by registered mail?
Thank you,
Mailee More
Dear Mailee More,
Good question, and like many functions in property rooms, there may not be any statute that governs the process. So, the first thing to find out is if your state/local statutes have specific requirements for notification. If there is no statutory requirement for notification, the next decision is to ask, “Why do we send a notification?” The most common answers are: first, as you noted in your question, “Because we’ve always done it that way;” and secondly, “Because we don’t want to get sued by a property owner if we dispose of their property.” Has your agency ever been sued for disposing of property? If not, you will have to decide if you mail a property owner a notice to claim property for every case where property is eligible for release. If you decide to send mail, will you send a First-class letter; Certified mail (you have a receipt from the US Post Office that the letter was mailed) or Registered/Return receipt mail (the person who receives the letter must sign for it and the receipt is forwarded to you)? Would the nature/value of the property be a consideration? For instance, would your notification process be any different if there is valuable jewelry or an expensive camera versus a pair of old sneakers and a sweatshirt? Also, a large-number of the people who you are trying to contact to claim their property are transients with no current address. Based upon thirty years of dealing with the question regarding notification to property owners, most property officers have no specific written policies on this subject. 
     Absent any statutory guidelines maybe there is a more realistic a way to approach this issue. Divide all of the items of property that are being to be returned into several categories. For example, any cases that have a specific dollar amount of money for example over $20; any cases with firearms in involved; any cases with jewelry or other item with significant value where we use special mailing services. 
Certified versus Registered/Return Receipt Mail:

Certified Mail
When you send a letter or package by Certified Mail, you have proof that it was mailed. The clerk will tear off the bottom of the perforated form and hand it to you as your proof of mailing. When delivery is made, the date and time of the delivery is noted. If delivery is attempted but not made, that is noted on the item and delivery is attempted again. You'll receive an email when delivery is made or attempted.

Certified mail is helpful when you want to have proof that you mailed the item. If you're questioned about whether or not the item was mailed, you can provide your receipt and give the date it was mailed.
Using Registered/Return Receipt Mail

For critically important or valuable mailings, you may opt to use Registered/Return Receipt Mail. This service can tell you where your letter is on its journey from when you mail the item to when it is received. Using Registered Return Receipt Mail gives you an extra measure of security knowing that your package has more eyes and hands looking out for it than is normally the case. The cost of Registered Mail is based on the weight of your letter.
Regards,
Joe Latta - Executive Director
Headlines
Annual "BOLO" Reminder (Be On The Look Out

OLD, COLD EVIDENCE

Every year IAPE acquires over 1,000 new members; these are Property and Evidence Custodians most of whom have no experience working in this area of law enforcement. Many of these new members come from agencies where only one or two people working in the Property Room. Often, and with no prior training or experience, the new Custodian is suddenly responsible for the management of thousands of items of evidence. Among that volume of evidence there are unsolved, cold case homicides; sexual assault cases; and other cases that have be forgotten over time. Most smaller agencies don't have the luxury of having a cold case investigator or squad that is responsible to resurrect old unsolved homicides and sexual assault cases. There could well be evidence from 20, 30, 40, 50 and more year-old cases that have been buried and forgotten. The original investigators may be retired or dead and no current investigator has taken over the cold cases. Additionally, forensic evidence from a case may have been sent to your Crime Lab twenty or thirty years ago when DNA science was in its infancy. Perhaps a fresh analysis today may yield evidence to identify as possible subject. There have been exponential increases in Science and they may help to solve an old crime. Below is a news report about a Las Vegas homicide case from 1979 that recently was solved based upon current scientific capabilities.

So, here is this year’s IAPE BOLO announcement: be on the lookout for those old, cold cases that are buried in your Property Room. And once you’ve found those cases, bring it to the attention of your boss and to your investigators. You, as a Property and Evidence Custodian may well be person who helps to get the ball rolling in solving a decades old criminal case.
Murder case solved after 42 years using DNA testing, genealogical work
November 29, 2021

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has identified the suspect in the murder of Kim Bryant, a 16-year-old girl who went missing in January of 1979 and was found dead almost a month later.

According to police, using forensic-grade genome sequencing®, Othram Inc., a Texas-based forensic sequencing laboratory, was able to link DNA evidence left on Bryant’s body to then-19-year-old Johnny Peterson, according to Homicide Lt. Raymond Spencer during a news conference on Monday. Further testing by the LVMPD Forensic Laboratory confirmed the findings.

“Based on sperm recovered from the body of Kim Bryant at autopsy revealed that Johnny Blake Peterson was the person who kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered Kim Bryant,” Lt. Ray Spencer, LVMPD said.

On January 26, 1979, Bryant was reported missing after she did not return home from school. She was last seen that day at a fast-food restaurant on North Decatur Boulevard, near U.S. Highway 95.

On February 20, 1979, Bryant’s body was discovered in a desert area near West Charleston Boulevard and South Buffalo Drive. She had been sexually assaulted.
Detectives now believe Peterson abducted Bryant the day she went missing, then sexually assaulted and killed her.

Peterson died in January 1993, but his identification as the suspect serves as a reminder to the families of murder victims that the LVMPD will not stop investigating these crimes, no matter how much time has passed.

Detectives selected Bryant’s case for submission to Othram.

The testing done by Othram Inc. was made possible thanks to a financial donation from Las Vegas resident Justin Woo, who approached the LVMPD to help further a cold case investigation using advanced DNA technology.

“Condolences to Kim’s family. We hope we provided a little bit of closure for you,” Justin Woo, philanthropist said.

Dr. Kristen Mittelman of Othram inc. said they take a deeper look at DNA samples.
They then look into a genealogical database used for law enforcement to link the samples to family members or family trees.

Othram performed the DNA testing and genealogical research and returned investigative leads to LVMPD detectives.

According to Mittelman, that lead is then given to investigators, in this case, Peterson’s family.

“We can take those cases that have failed all those other methods. We can still solve them. There is still hope for these families. Nobody should wait 42 years to find out who murdered their child,” Mittleman added.

It is not known if Bryant and Peterson knew each other.

This is the second cold case here in Las Vegas solved in this manner. Mittleman says they expect to solve another case here very soon.

LVMPD Homicide Cold Case detectives are constantly reviewing cases, looking at advancements in technology, and reviewing tips in order to identify those responsible for taking another person’s life.

Anyone who would like to donate to the Homicide Cold Case unit to help further the investigation of other unsolved murders may do so by going visiting this website and designating a donation for the “Homicide Cold Case Unit.”
Training
World Class Training in “Best-Practices” For
Evidence & Property Room Management
We offer dozens of classes per year across the U.S. and Canada, taught by current and former law enforcement officials with extensive real-world experience in management of property and evidence. This two-day course is ideal for those responsible for, or actively involved in, the operation, supervision or management of a Property and Evidence Unit. All training topics address best business practices and professional standards.
Registration to any 2-Day class now includes the digital download of
"Property and Evidence By The Book" 2nd Edition.

1-Day Supervisor Class
March
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May
Commerce City, Colorado
August
Burlington, North Carolina
September
Palm Bay, Florida
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2-Day Classes 2022
February
Las Vegas, Nevada
Little Rock, Arkansas
Hurst, Texas
March
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
Spokane, Washington
Sergeant Bluff, Iowa
April
Overland Park, Kansas
Salem, Oregon
May
Commerce City, Colorado
June
Burbank, California
August
Burlington, North Carolina
September
Palm Bay, Florida
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Need Training Right Now?
IAPE also offers ONLINE TRAINING
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The Full online course class option is a great choice if you want much of the same training as the Live classes but without the travel and time away from the department. The IAPE Property and Evidence Management video Course is approximately 14 hours in length and was prepared by Law Enforcement Personnel for Law Enforcement Personnel. Completion of the course meets the training requirements for becoming a Certified Property and Evidence Specialist (CPES).
*Registration to any 2-Day class now includes the digital download of
"Property and Evidence By The Book" 2nd Edition.
ONLINE INDIVIDUAL CLASS MODULES:
Below is a listing of our individual class options for those who may have limited time and want to get specific training in the most needed areas within the evidence room.

Audits and Inventories Video: This module provides material useful to Property Room personnel as well as Auditors regarding the preparation for and procedure of conducting an audit of the Property Room. Additionally, you will also learn various aspects of conducting inventories and how they differ from audits.

Security Video:  This module focuses on the best ways to secure your Property Room as well as common mistakes that you should avoid. You will also learn about many types of products and procedures which will enhance the security of your facility. INCLUDES SPECIAL BONUS VIDEO ON ELECTRONIC SECURITY.

Documentation, Chain of Custody and Automation:  These 2 video modules provide an understanding of the Chain of Custody within the property room, along with an overview of the various internal controls needed to properly track and manage you evidence when it leaves your department for court, crime lab or out for investigations . Additionally, the video also discusses the advantages of automating the tracking process, Found Property and Property for Safekeeping.
Resources
Got a Job? Need a Job?

IAPE is delighted to announce that we have a new section for posting a job announcement or checking job opportunities.
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Become a Certified Evidence Specialist

Along with the IAPE's extensive evidence training courses, the IAPE offers our members the opportunity to become Certified Property and Evidence Specialists. 

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