Audit: Poulsbo PD need to tighten oversight of evidence locker

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BYLINE: Denise Whitaker
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Poulsbo, WA

POULSBO, Wash. -- A state audit found Poulsbo Police Department lacked oversight over its own evidence locker after gold, guns and cash mysteriously disappeared.

The missing items prompted the audit, which was released on Tuesday. The report recommended the department tighten up on recordkeeping and controls over the contents of the locker.

On the list of missing items is a gold necklace, which cost the city's insurance company more than $1,000 to replace, as well as $2,000 in cash that was supposed to be transferred from the police department to the city's finance department.

Semi-automatic handguns set to be destroyed also disappeared from the locker. The state traced the guns back to a police clerk responsible for transporting the guns. That former clerk, Amanda Dixon, has been charged with theft.

Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson said her confidence in her police chief has not wavered. She added the department has made significant changes to prevent similar incidents in the future.

"We've moved the police. We have a new evidence locker. We have new software and we have new personnel," said Erickson.

The police department is now located in City Hall, and it now uses new software that includes a bar code system that will keep track of all pieces of evidence in the possession of the police department.

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International Association for Property and Evidence
"Law Enforcement Serving the Needs of Law Enforcement"
www.IAPE.org