East Baton  Rouge Clerk of CourtBaton Rouge, LA (Aug) – EVIDENCEONQ MAKES LOUISIANA CLERK OF COURT-- EVIDENCE ROOM AIRTIGHT AFTER MAJOR THEFTS

The EvidenceOnQ software was installed this summer at an East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Parish Clerk of Court after two evidence room employees were arrested in December 2012 for thefts of drugs and firearms, according to an August 22 story in The Advocate.Com.

Arrested were William Bates Colvin, the son of 19th JDC Judge Kay Bates, and fellow Clerk of Court employee Debra Vicknair Bell. Colvin was charged with stealing roughly 48 pounds of cocaine, which he then distributed for profit amounting to about $200,000, and seven firearms from the clerk of court’s evidence vault. Bell’s son, 29-year-old Colt Bell, and Terrance Sloan Ramirez, 30, are accused of extorting Colvin to commit more thefts from the evidence vault.

The thefts prompted the Clerk of Court to adopt EvidenceOnQ whose installation was overseen by FileOnQ trainer and consultant Shannon Turner. Turner was hired to establish new procedures and policies to ensure no more security breaches of the evidence room will occur. According to Turner, the new evidence management procedures include: a dual-lock system and fingerprint reader on the evidence room door; additional cameras in the room and hallway leading to the room; creation of a camera-equipped evidence receiving room in the clerk’s office; a two-person intake and storage policy featuring bar codes; and a written log of all persons entering the evidence room.

In addition to these sweeping changes, Turner added that the EvidenceOnQ software will now allow the District Attorney’s Office to access the evidence databases of the Sheriff’s Office and Baton Rouge Police Department via the Internet. This solution will give the DA’s Office one common location for all evidence information instead of paper documents in individual files.

Turner discussed the EvidenceOnQ installation in a recent meeting with the 19th Judicial District Court judges at the Louisiana state district courthouse in Baton Rouge.

After hearing Turner’s presentation, current Chief Judge Trudy White said, “I’m very confident with the changes made in the evidence room. It is now state of the art. It is absolutely critical that the evidence room is perfect,” Judge White added.

As a result of the EvidenceOnQ software installation, Turner claims the clerk’s office has one of the best evidence management systems in the country.

FULL STORY at THE ADVOCATE.COM