Document text
New property room larger, more secure Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Medford Police Lt. Craig Amann will oversee the department�s new 6,495-square-foot property building, where evidence seized during crimes will be stored. The facility is triple the size and twice as secure as the old property room in City Hall, police say. Police move files, boxes of evidence By Jill Briskey Three years after $10,000 was stolen from the Medford Police property room, a new evidence storage facility is finally up and running. The new property building � located near the Medford City Shop off Columbus Avenue � is triple the size and doubly secure, said Medford Lt. Craig Amann. Before the 6,495-square-foot facility was built, Medford police stored the bulk of their evidence in a 2,000-square-foot room inside City Hall. Officers also utilized various storage units throughout the city to hold other items. "There�s a real problem with space at City Hall," Amann said. "Things were scattered everywhere. We needed a central location." Friday, officials moved boxes of evidence to the recently remodeled city parks building � including mountains of files, bloodied clothing, stereos, drugs, guns, photographs and many other items. Police Chief Eric Mellgren said creating the new property building was not prompted by the $10,000 theft, which took place Jan. 9, 1998. "The main reason for the new facility is to have a central location, not because of security reasons," Mellgren said. During the crime, the culprit pried open the locked door to the property room and forced open a locked box, stealing $10,000 that had been seized from a bank robbery. Only police officers and a few city employees and volunteers had access to the room. Oregon State Police, who investigated the crime, never named a suspect. Oregon State Police Sgt. Kurt Barthel said a "substantial number" of police officers were interviewed and given polygraph tests. Barthel would not comment on the results of those tests. Although the three-year statute of limitations has run out on the crime, the case could still be prosecuted, Barthel said, if investigators could prove that the suspect left the area to avoid prosecution or other extenuating circumstances exist. "At this point, there�s nothing further that we can follow up," Barthel said. "It�s currently still being classified as an open case but it�s not going to be looked into unless more information comes out." Mellgren said the old property room, along with most of City Hall, will be remodeled in May. The entire first floor will be absorbed into the police department, he added. The new property storage building has a lot of improvements over the old one, Amann said. He points to a locked room for weapons and another locked room for drugs, this one ventilated. There�s lots of static shelving on the walls for files, he said, along with rolling storage units for other items. "Now we�re able to crunch everything in here together," Amann said. There�s even a room for bloodied, soiled or wet pieces of evidence to dry, Amann said, complete with drains installed in the floor. An enclosed garage area will allow officers to search vehicles immediately after they are seized. In the past, Mellgren said, officers had to find a secure location to search seized vehicles since none existed � a timely and complicated process. Mostly, Amann added, the new building features the latest in security. To keep the interior of the facility safe, there are video surveillance cameras and alarms. To access each room in the building, officers must use key cards � which record the time, date and person who entered. "We�ve done everything we can possibly think of to keep this place secure," he said. Only Amann and the two property room clerks will have access to the entire facility. Visitors and officers will have limited access to only certain areas. Police officers attempting to enter unauthorized areas with their key cards will sound an alarm, Amann said. "We�ll always know who is coming or leaving," he said. "It�s really going to limit the ability of someone coming in from the other side." "Slam lockers" have been installed to protect officers and the evidence against rumors of tampering, Amann said. Officers checking in collected evidence must place the items inside special lockers. Once the locker door shuts, it cannot be opened except from the other side, where police will not have access, Amann said. Amann admitted it will take some time to fill all of the space inside the evidence room. The building was constructed with a 10-year plan in mind, he added. "We have to build for the future," Amann said. "I think this facility will allow us to expand in the future if need be." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.