If a police officer seizes any exhibit in the course of an investigation, he is required to deposit the exhibit with the officer in the respective police station who is responsible for handling exhibits.
The retention of the vehicle allows the defence an opportunity to challenge the evidence of the police vehicle examiner in relation to the identification of the vehicle.Prosecutors should raise the issue of restoration of the vehicle to its lawful owner during early engagement with the defence and at the first hearing in the magistrates' court.All decisions about seized stolen vehicles with altered identity and agreements with the defence must be recorded in writing, for example by the defence recording their agreement to restoration on the PTPH form or in correspondence. At common law it is within the power of, and is the duty of, constables to retain for use in court things which may be evidence of crime, and which have come into possession of constables without wrong on their part (Under the Code of Practice issued under part 2 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, any police officer investigating alleged crimes has a duty to record and retain material which may be relevant to the investigation.As a general rule, the courts entrust the prosecution with the exhibits pending trial and after committal. You should tell the police to expect an approach.If the exhibits are retained at a forensic science laboratory you should write to the defence asking them to contact the laboratory direct. Where it imposes no restrictions, it is for the prosecution to deal with the exhibits in whatever way appears best for the purposes of justice. Original albums will be sent to the court and prosecuting counsel with a notice of additional evidence. Where issue is taken, the defence should explain why they are not satisfied with the representative forensic testing. As the need for photographs, as opposed to photocopies, is likely to arise very infrequently, Areas will need to negotiate payment on a case by case basis.Investigations carried out by Law Enforcement Agencies, such as NCA, HMRC and the police may result in the seizure of bulk goods, for example drugs.
Instead, a representative sample of each type or package or concealment will be subject to forensic analysis, in line with the streamlined forensic approach. See There is an agreement between CPS and the Association of Chief Police Officers that:The caseworker should therefore ensure that the file does contain the minimum 3 free sets.Because of the high cost of additional sets of photographs provided by the police, the CPS will make its own additional copies of photographs. Where it is not possible to contact the prosecutor in the case, the OICI should contact the Complex Casework Unit /Central Casework Division Head.Early engagement between the prosecution and the defence is an important element of the bulk destruction policy, as is the need for a clear audit trail.
they should be:Video recorded evidence is admissible in evidence in the same way as photographic or audio taped evidence is admissible.Where the video evidence is obtained by the police and produced to the CPS, it is and it remains the responsibility of the police to ensure that the video evidence has been viewed and that any sensitive or personal information in relation to any person shown therein is edited.