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INNOVATIVE DESIGN <br />LAW ENFORCEMENT DESIGN <br />There are many areas of the police facility that should be given special design consideration including: public lobby, interior corridors, <br />records, investigative services, property and evidence, crime lab, holding area, armory, SWAT / tactical ready room, briefing and muster, <br />locker and shower rooms, physical agility rooms, community policing unit, and victim interview / waiting room to name a few. Below <br />is just a sample of planning considerations. <br />PUBLIC ACCESS | With exception to the public-accessed lobby / waiting / property return areas, all exterior doors require security access <br />control. The public has no access beyond the secured access point. Additionally, all walls, doors, and glazing adjacent to the lobby / <br />waiting / property return space are bullet resistant, ballistic rated. Secure, programmable card-key access by authorized personnel <br />only, is required beyond this point. This ensures both the safety of the public and law enforcement personnel from any potential <br />contamination of an outside influence. <br />EVIDENCE HANDLING / PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE | The planning and design of property and evidence areas must incorporate all recognized <br />criterion that address the four critical components. They include: (1) Preparation; (2) Processing; (3) Holding Storage; (4) Support <br />Infrastructure. <br />(1) Preparation: Law enforcement evidence custodians / technicians generally follow normal 9-5 business hours. <br />However, a large majority of the property and evidence that comes into an agency does so after these hours and therefore <br />must be accurately documented for the custodians / technicians to process and track the articles. The facilities must be <br />outfitted with an area referred to as the “bag and tag station.” This is where the officer will log in the article(s), assign a <br />case number, and securely store the article(s) avoiding access by anyone other than the evidence custodian / technician. <br />As an example, in ADG’s Miramar Crime Scene Facility design, evidence is brought to the evidence drop-off through secured corridors, <br />and bagged and tagged for storage or further processing in the specialized, lockable evidence lockers. Also required is a chemical- <br />resistant counter top work area with access to stored materials for packaging the property and evidence articles. The space needs to <br />be located near a bank of evidence drop lockers, in a variety of sizes, to accommodate anything from DUI/DWI video tapes to rifles, as <br />well as a group of refrigerated units that will preserve articles containing DNA or bodily fluids without risk of deterioration. This bank <br />of evidence lockers is a front-loaded, locked, and rear-retrieving configuration placed on a concrete curb with a floor drain located in <br />close proximity to the refrigerated units as the condensation could be released onto the immediate floor area. <br />(2) Processing: The processing of the property and evidence articles is generally done only by individuals trained and certified in the <br />proper techniques to comply with the sanctity of custody regulations. Initial processing occurs in an open work area, most typically <br />located directly on the secure side of the bank of evidence drop lockers. Again, chemical-resistant or stainless steel counter top <br />11