Chain of Custody

Excerpt

The chain of custody is the most critical process of evidence documentation. It is necessary to assure the court of law that the evidence is authentic, ie, the same evidence seized at the crime scene. It was always in the custody of a person designated to handle it, and for which it was never unaccounted. Although it is a lengthy process, the evidence must be relevant in court. The continuity of possession of evidence or custody of evidence and its movement and location from the point of discovery and recovery (at the scene of a crime or from a person) to its transport to the laboratory for examination and until the time it is allowed and admitted in the court, is known as the chain of custody or chain of evidence.