Post by nocops on Dec 7, 2006 12:05:52 GMT -5
December 7th, 2006
An audit found drugs missing from the Boston Police Department's main drug evidence storage facility, prompting the department to transfer a dozen officers who worked there.
Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll declined to release the scope of the apparent evidence tampering but said no criminal cases had been jeopardized. No one has been arrested.
"We don't believe at this point there's any compromise to the justice system," Driscoll said Wednesday.
A routine audit of the central drug depository was ordered this summer by then-Acting Police Commissioner Albert Goslin; Boston's new police chief, Ed Davis, was sworn in earlier this week.
The audit continued to find problems, which prompted more intense investigation that is still ongoing, Driscoll said. The dozen officers have been transferred to other roles, and Boston police have asked the Massachusetts State Police for help in installing a drug evidence system identical to one used by that agency.
"We're not afraid to look into things and sniff out any mismanagement and or criminal activity," Driscoll said. "In order to maintain credibility and trust with our community, it's imperative that we don't shy away from investigating our own when necessary."
It is not the first time Boston police have publicly revealed problems with handling evidence. In 2004, the department shut down its fingerprinting unit after it was blamed for a wrongful conviction and an outside consultant found officers were poorly trained. The unit has since reopened, with six civilians forensic experts replacing the six police officers who once analyzed fingerprints.
www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=5&id=33899
An audit found drugs missing from the Boston Police Department's main drug evidence storage facility, prompting the department to transfer a dozen officers who worked there.
Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll declined to release the scope of the apparent evidence tampering but said no criminal cases had been jeopardized. No one has been arrested.
"We don't believe at this point there's any compromise to the justice system," Driscoll said Wednesday.
A routine audit of the central drug depository was ordered this summer by then-Acting Police Commissioner Albert Goslin; Boston's new police chief, Ed Davis, was sworn in earlier this week.
The audit continued to find problems, which prompted more intense investigation that is still ongoing, Driscoll said. The dozen officers have been transferred to other roles, and Boston police have asked the Massachusetts State Police for help in installing a drug evidence system identical to one used by that agency.
"We're not afraid to look into things and sniff out any mismanagement and or criminal activity," Driscoll said. "In order to maintain credibility and trust with our community, it's imperative that we don't shy away from investigating our own when necessary."
It is not the first time Boston police have publicly revealed problems with handling evidence. In 2004, the department shut down its fingerprinting unit after it was blamed for a wrongful conviction and an outside consultant found officers were poorly trained. The unit has since reopened, with six civilians forensic experts replacing the six police officers who once analyzed fingerprints.
www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=5&id=33899
