Earlier this year RC Catalyst requested the latest audit report of the Rutherford County Sheriff Dept.’s evidence room. The following two multi-page files of an audit performed by Det. Jamie Keever in 2019 are presented for your review.
The purpose of an audit is to:
• Determine if appropriate controls existed over property and evidence
room inventory including: evidence intake, disposition, storage and
preservation and security;
• Determine if the property and evidence room staff maintained and
completed the proper documentation to support the chain of custody of
the property; and
• Determine if inventory is adequately accounted for and proper controls
existed over the inventory management system.
RC Catalyst requested comments from Sheriff Chris Francis, Jamie Keever, and Julie Green regarding problems, preventative measures, and corrective measures. They did not respond to our questions. Also no response was given to the question of how many criminal cases were affected by missing or tainted evidence.
