NIST Evidence Managment Steering Committee Newsletter

8/7/2020

Evidence Management Community of Practice Newsletter

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Evidence Management Community of Practice Newsletter
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sent this bulletin at 05/14/2020 10:36 AM EDT

Vol. 1, Issue 1

Welcome to the Evidence Management
Community of Practice Newsletter!
This monthly newsletter from the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) is part of the Evidence
Management Steering Committee (EMSC) established in
collaboration with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to
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Upcoming Events
and Trainings
International Association
for Property & Evidence
(IAPE) Training - A two day
in-person training focusing
on best practices for
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Evidence Management Community of Practice Newsletter

provide educational opportunities and share information with
evidence management stakeholders. Each issue will include
relevant articles and highlight upcoming events and training
opportunities.
Forensic evidence management is a significant concern for
law enforcement agencies across our nation, with several
contributing factors. For example, advances in forensic
testing, such as the ability to recover DNA profiles from
evidence which previously would not have yielded usable
DNA, have led to an increase in recent years in the type and
amount of evidence submitted for testing. Backlog reduction
programs aiming to reduce the number of untested sexual
assault kits have also led to an increase in evidence moving
through property rooms. Additionally, scrutiny of evidence
management has led to more negative media attention when
agencies have failed to properly manage their evidence.
Unfortunately, the infrastructure and best practices required
to handle these increases in evidence submission have not
kept up with the demand.
In response to these challenges, section 13 of the Justice for
All Reauthorization Act of 2016 directed the NIJ—in
consultation with federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies and government laboratories—to establish best
practices for evidence retention. NIST, in collaboration with
NIJ under an interagency agreement, has established the
EMSC to develop best practices for retention, preservation,
integrity, and disposition of evidence and property. EMSC is
also encouraging the adoption of these best practices
through broad stakeholder education and engagement
initiatives.

Ask the Steering Committee
Each issue of the newsletter will answer an evidence
management question from one of our readers. The
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evidence and property room
management.
Due to COVID-19, dates of
in-person trainings are
changing daily. The most up
to date list of upcoming
Property & Evidence
Trainings can be found here.
Unable to travel? IAPE
offers two great online
training options. Choose
between a full two-day
course or individual classes.
Click here to learn more
about IAPE's online courses
Institute of Police
Technology and
Management (IPTM)
- Property and Evidence
Room Management - A two
day in-person training on
how to properly document,
inventory, control, dispose
of, and purge property and
evidence of all types.
Due to COVID-19, dates of
in-person trainings are
changing daily. The most up
to date list of upcoming
Property and Evidence
Room Management
trainings can be found here.
Click here for a full list of
IPTM's upcoming trainings
California Association for
Property & Evidence
(CAPE) - Annual Training
Seminar - October 18-23
2020, San Diego, CA

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evidence management community is composed of many
stakeholders representing different perspectives. Yet, these
stakeholders often encounter similar obstacles. EMSC
subject matter experts are here to help answer questions
with Ask the Steering Committee.
EMSC members work at local, state, and federal agencies
as forensic nurses, evidence custodians, medical examiners,
and laboratory and law enforcement personnel. Please
submit questions that you or your agency are struggling to
answer, topics you are interested in knowing more about, or
questions about how others in the community are handling a
particular issue.
Send your questions to AskEMSC@NIST.gov.
QUESTION: Since this is the first issue, we’ll start things off
with a question that we know is on many people’s minds.
What is the best way to handle items of evidence that have
suspected or known contamination with fentanyl?
BACKGROUND: On March 18, 2015, the United States
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued a nationwide alert
about the dangers of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs. The
DEA alert emphasized a rising threat of heroin laced with
fentanyl and reported an increase in deaths. While this risk
is not new, several recent law enforcement alerts and
increased media attention have brought this hazard to the
forefront.
THE PROBLEM: Fentanyl is a commonly prescribed
narcotic painkiller absorbed through the skin or mucosa. The
drug comes in a variety of forms, such as powder, tablets,
capsules, solutions, lozenges, transdermal patches,
lollipops, and “rocks.” Crime scene investigators, laboratory
personnel, and other evidence handlers can potentially be
exposed to fentanyl while processing crime scenes and
during evidence collection and handling. The risk of
exposure to fentanyl extends to first responders, health care
providers, medical examiner and coroner office employees,
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CAPE's 31st Annual
Training Seminar focuses on
helping members stay up to
date with current property
and evidence management.

Fentanyl in the
News
In Glowing Colors: Seeing
the Spread of Drug Particles
in a Forensic Lab, National
Institute of Standards and
Technology, April 22,
2020, E. Sisco, M.E.
Staymates, A. Burns
A study conducted to
determine the spread of
drug particles in a laboratory
during the analysis of
suspected drug evidence.
Federal, State Attorneys
Want Extension of Fentanyl
Order, Forensic Magazine,
Associated Press, January
31, 2020, A. Sainz
Federal and state attorneys
are urging Congress to
extend an order that
criminalizes possession of
the dangerous opioid
fentanyl and related
substances.
Orange police cruiser
contaminated with fentanyl,
IAPE news blog, The
Recorder, January 28,
2020, D. McLellan
A police cruiser was
contaminated with fentanyl

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and emergency medical service professionals working with
patients who may have easily aerosolized drugs on their
clothing or are wearing transdermal patches. While naloxone
can reverse the effects of fentanyl, exposure can still be
harmful and require medical attention. In rare cases
exposure to fentanyl may be fatal.
THE SOLUTION: As a best practice, the correct use of
personal protective equipment when handling evidence or
caring for patients helps reduce the risk of exposure to
fentanyl.

Fentanyl Handling Best Practices
The use of best practices is important to reduce exposure to
fentanyl and to properly protect those who are encountering
it in the field or laboratory.
1. Improve your knowledge about fentanyl aerosolization:
Aerosolization is the process or act of a physical
substance being converted into particles small
enough to become airborne.
Occurs when disturbed fentanyl residue becomes
airborne.
Can occur when handling fentanyl drug evidence.
Can occur during the collection and packaging of
evidence with fentanyl residue.
Can be minimized with techniques that reduce
disturbance of fentanyl drug evidence during
collection and packaging operations.
2. Techniques to reduce the risk of fentanyl exposure
and aerosolization:

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following an arrest in
Orange, New Jersey.
A Safer Way for Police to
Test Drug Evidence,
National Institute of
Standards and Technology,
September 17, 2019, E.
Sisco, E. Robinson, A.
Burns, R. Mead
A proposed method for
police to safely test whether
a package contains illegal
drugs without having to
handle any contents directly.
New Protocol for Measuring
Background Levels of Drugs
in Crime Labs, National
Institute of Standards and
Technology, September 25,
2018, E Sisco, M. Najarro,
A. Burns
A new protocol to
measure detectable
background levels of drugs
in the laboratory.

Evidence
Management in the
News
Missed the NIST 2019
Evidence Management
Conference? View all the
presentations by clicking
here.
House Passes Bill to Let
State Patrol Destroy Crime
Guns, Forensic Magazine,
Associated Press, January
27, 2020, M. Bellisle
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Use chemical resistant gloves (e.g., nitrile) to handle
or collect known or suspected fentanyl evidence.
Use safety goggles and half-face
respirators throughout the evidence collection and
development process to provide additional eye and
respiratory protection from trace airborne fentanyl
drug evidence. When available, handle evidence
under a fume hood or in a glovebox designed for
handling dangerous substances.
Cover the evidence with clean butcher paper or a
similar barrier, and fold to prevent crosscontamination; when possible, seal in a bag before
handling the evidence. Double bagging of evidence
can assist in minimizing damage to packaging and
prevent fentanyl residue from adhering to the outside
of the package. The outermost packaging should be
labeled “Suspected Fentanyl.”
After the collection of fentanyl drug evidence, remove
chemical protective gloves by turning gloves and
barrier gowns inside out before disposal, then wash
hands thoroughly with soap and water. Do not use
hand sanitizers—any alcohol-based cleaners or
bleach increase the absorption of fentanyl through
the skin.

Washington state House of
Representatives passed a
bill that allows the State
Patrol to destroy guns they
confiscated during criminal
investigations.
Evidence Management of
Self-Collected Items: A
Targeted Gap
Analysis, Evidence
Technology Magazine,
Winter 2019, P. M. Speck,
R. A. Ekroos, D. K. Faugno,
J. A. Johnson, V. Sievers &
S. A. Mitchell
An analysis of several
issues surrounding selfcollection by victims.
NIBIN Policies and
Procedures for the Property
Room, Evidence Technology
Magazine, Fall 2019, D.
Jokerst & M. Pettolina
Information on developing a
National Integrated Ballistic
Information Network (NIBIN)
policy for your agency and
property room.

To properly clean any contaminated equipment, wash
hard surfaces with water and household cleaners.
Change the water frequently and rinse surfaces with
clean water after washing. Vacuum carpet and
upholstered surfaces with a HEPA-filtered vacuum
and use adequate respiratory protection.
Manage fentanyl evidence by storing and securing as
drug evidence.
Use a crush-proof box, such as Department of
Transportation (DOT) compliant, level 4G (non-crush)
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fiberboard shipping boxes, or a reusable “Pelican”
style case for transporting fentanyl evidence.
Shipment of the evidence must only occur in
collaboration with qualified hazmat shippers who
follow DOT specific regulations for the transfer of
suspected and known amounts of fentanyl.
References and Additional Educational Links:
An Easy to Implement Approach for Laboratories to
Visualize Particle Spread During the Handling and Analysis
of Drug Evidence. Forensic Chemistry (2020, May).
Evaluation of Occupational Exposures to Illicit Drugs at
Forensic Sciences Laboratories. National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (2020, March).
Hazardous Waste Transportation. Environmental Protection
Agency (2019, November 25).
Fentanyl Exposures and Cleanup. Minnesota Department of
Health (2019, July 24).
Fentanyl: A Briefing Guide for First Responders. Drug
Enforcement Administration (2018).
Fentanyl Safety Recommendations for First
Responders. Drug Enforcement Administration (2017,
November 28).
Preventing Emergency Responders' Exposures to Illicit
Drugs. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(2017, August 24).
Field Evidence Management Policy Guide. Federal Bureau
of Investigation (2015, April 10).
DEA Issues Nationwide Alert on Fentanyl as Threat to Heath
and Public Safety. Drug Enforcement Agency. (2015, March
18).
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