Evidence Techician
The Helena Police Department's Evidence Tech is responsible for intake, logging, and handling of all evidence gathered by officers of the department. The Evidence Tech is responsible for all evidentiary items that have been turned in, and must assure that the chain of evidence is documented on each item, the tech is also responsible for disposal of items after completion of court hearings. This would involve getting the items back to their owners, or destroying the items if warranted.
Evidence Technician Anne Jacobson
On October 7, 1991, Anne Jacobson was hired as the first civilian evidence technician within the Criminal Investigation Division of the Helena Police Department. Her duties include receiving, storing, cataloging, monitoring, preserving, and properly disposing of all property whether it’s submitted as evidence or found property. On average there are over 4,000 pieces of evidence and/or property logged in per year including items such as sexual assault kits, homicide items, wallets, DUI videotapes, bicycles, alcohol, tools, vehicles, cash, drugs and narcotics and even lawn ornaments. This position is accountable for ensuring that all evidence or property is correctly logged in, placed in the appropriate location within the evidence vault or the designated impound lot, submitted to the Crime Lab in Missoula, Montana, or other labs within the United States (DEA, FBI) if required, tracking results of analysis, preserving the chain of custody and producing evidence for court proceedings. The Evidence Tech also handles requests from attorneys to view evidence and DUI tapes.
During the past 17 years, Anne has attended numerous training seminars and schools that have enabled her to expand her area of expertise and manage the myriad of duties associated with her position. She has the knowledge and qualifications to effectively assist the investigators at crimes scenes to proficiently process the scene and collect and bag the evidence.
One of her major accomplishments was implementing the use of PropertyRoom.com to dispose of evidence and property. This is a specialized website that auctions property seized by law enforcement agencies throughout the nation. This property and evidence can be a conglomeration of items seized by police where no owners could be located and where the courts have ordered that the property be sold. The City of Helena has policies and procedures in place that dictate that all seized items can only be sold at auction which prompted Anne to research the various law enforcement auction websites and chose a viable organization for the disposal of property.
Helena Independent Record writes a story on our "Keeper of the Evidence"