Evidence and Property

The Evidence and Property division of the West Memphis Police Department promptly and accurately enters, maintains, and disposes of all evidence and property in order to preserve the integrity of the evidence for the officers and the court. The division also serves the citizens by returning property or evidence immediately upon case disposition.

A critical duty of the Evidence and Property clerk is maintaining the chain of custody of evidence. They also ensure the availability of evidence for court. They transfer and receive all evidence to the Arkansas State crime lab for analysis. They log and ship biological samples to specific laboratories for testing, such as blood alcohol samples to the Arkansas Department of Health.

A goal of this division is to get all property, when legally possible, returned to its rightful owner. In doing so we require a state issued photo identification, proof of ownership for items stored for safekeeping or found property. Evidence cannot be returned to a victim until either the case officer has released it or after final disposition from the court. Evidence from a defendant will need final disposition from the court and in some cases a court order. A criminal history check will be performed before any firearm is returned.