An audit of the Windsor Police Service procedures around the Drug Exhibit Control vault has not turned up any problems.
Questions were raised when 9 oz. of cocaine for a criminal trial were inadvertently destroyed.
Windsor Police Chief Al Frederick initiated a review of the procedures in the wake of the incident. The audit, done by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Service, found complete compliance with procedures and everything accounted for, however, the ministry produced 11 recommendations in their report.
Chief Frederick says that result was positive.
"I couldn't be more confident that our processes and systems were working," he says. "Maybe a little convoluted or less than efficient as they will be going forward, but everything was accounted for."
He says they will be moving forward with updated technology, including electronic bar coding.
"When a piece of evidence comes in to our possession it won't be just logged and earmarked with a number on a bag," explains Frederick. "It'll have a barcode, so tracked electronically. That's the big difference."
A challenge will be bringing all existing evidence to the new system.
"The big issue there is going backwards and barcoding all the evidence already in our possession, cases that are before the court or through appeals that can go back years and years,” says Frederick. “That has to be updated before we move this going forward."
Chief Frederick says new equipment to read and file the bar codes will cost around $200,000, plus whatever staff time it takes for training.
He says an upgrade to the security camera system in the drug vault and at the courthouse facilities is already being completed at a cost of $1.5-million.