Evidence room upgrade cost stops some in their tracks

Grafton Police Department officials are concerned the current state of the department evidence room may lead to issues in the event of an audit but village officials are concerned about the price of upgrading the room.

Police Chief Jeff Caponera pitched a $54,553 evidence room upgrade to the Public Safety Committee Jan. 11. The project was discussed while creating the 2022 budget and approved in the capital improvement plan.

Caopnera said as chief, it is his duty to identify potential issues in the department and try to resolve them.

“Currently our evidence room is one of those problems lying in wait that could be a liability risk to the organization,” he said.

Caponera said the evidence room, which stores evidence that may be used in court cases, is nearly at max capacity, creating disorder in the room and making it difficult to keep evidence organized.

The room, which is at roughly 90% capacity, is so full it cannot properly store evidence from a homicide case. The evidence is instead being stored in a locked office that is monitored by camera.

Property and Evidence Manager Emily Neuser said when taking inventory of the room when she first assumed the position, that some evidence was difficult to locate immediately.

“The room was, for lack of a better term, very messy,” she said.

Caponera said while he is not aware of any evidence handling issues in the department, it does not mean they may have occurred before his time with the department.

The upgrade project would remove all of the evidence room’s current shelving and install a new storage system with mobile carriages that slide on rails, locking shelves and additional storage space.

After ordering the new storage equipment, Caponera said it would likely take between six and eight months for the upgrades to be complete.

Caponera said the evidence room upgrade is necessary for the department to attain accreditation status through the International Association for Property and Evidence and through the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group — processes which may involve members of the groups to perform audits of the room.

He added that the department takes pride in how it handles evidence and that he does not want to be in a situation where evidence is lost and a case is dismissed as a result.

Some committee members said while they understand the importance of properly storing evidence that they believe the upgrade cost is too high.

Trustee Jim Miller asked if there were upgrade options that may cost less.

“This is really a top of the line and excessive upgrade where we could maybe downsize to some nice shelving that wouldn’t cost us $54,000,” he said.

Caponera said the proposed upgrade is costly but would ensure evidence is properly stored and guarantee room for additional storage.

Trustee and committee chair Lisa Harbeck said she was concerned about the price of the upgrade and that it would be useful for committee members to tour the evidence room to see what issues there are before making a decision. But neither of the two police department employees who have access to the room were present at the meeting, preventing committee members from viewing the space immediately.

The committee tabled action on the upgrade until its February meeting and planned to organize a time with Neuser to tour the evidence room before the meeting.