Seized Drugs and Weapons: DEA Needs to Improve Certain Physical Safeguards and Strengthen Accountability

On February 8, 2000, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued guidance (Subject: GAO recommendations on Seized Drugs and Weapons) to all domestic offices informing them of the GAO review. The guidance reinforced the policies and procedures outlined in the DEA Agents Manual regarding the proper storage of bulk marijuana evidence and the sealing of weapons in evidence bags.

On December 6, 1999, DEA's Office of Forensic Sciences issued a memorandum to all Laboratory Directors to reinforce DEA's policy to ensure that evidence is destroyed within 90 days after receipt of a DEA-48 form. On August 24, 2000, DEA issued a memorandum to its Field Division Offices to reinforce DEA's policy of promptly destroying drugs that are no longer needed as evidence.

On December 6, 1999, DEA's Office of Forensic Sciences issued a memorandum to all Laboratory Directors to reinforce DEA's policy to ensure that evidence is returned to the evidence vault within five working days after being analyzed.

As a follow-up to the GAO report, DEA determined that a policy conflict existed between the Laboratory Operations Manual (LOM) and the DEA Agents Manual. To correct the conflict, DEA's Office of Operations Management determined that the DEA Agents Manual would be changed to reflect the LOM requirement of two recorded signatures on evidence labels prior to acceptance by the divisions. A memorandum was sent to all Laboratories on March 7, 2000, to clarify the application of this change. The memo states that laboratories are to continue checking for two signatures on the evidence labels for evidence delivered to the laboratory in person, but the laboratory policy for acceptance of evidence mailed to the laboratory with only one signature on the evidence label would remain unchanged. In these situations, DEA will accept the evidence with only one signature to minimize the added risk and delay associated with mailing the evidence back. However, the originating office will be notified and reminded of the new policy. On August 24, 2000, DEA sent a memorandum to its Field Division Offices stating that effective immediately agents must obtain the signature of a witnessing agent. DEA plans to revise its Agents Manual, due out in 12/2000, to reflect this change.

DEA's Office of Forensic Sciences issued a memorandum on December 6, 1999, directing all Laboratory Directors to ensure that case file documentation (i.e., DEA-12s, DEA-86s, etc.) is properly completed and maintained in the appropriate case file. In addition, all Laboratory Directors were instructed to ensure that data is entered into DEA's System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE) accurately and promptly. On March 7, 2000, another memorandum was issued from the Office of Forensic Sciences to all Laboratory Directors to clarify timeframes relating to the creation of certain records. This memorandum stated that the creation of the evidence inventory record would remain at three working days, however, the timeframe for creating the laboratory primary record would be five working days.

On February 8, 2000, DEA issued guidance to all DEA domestic offices reinforcing the requirement to perform certain procedures as part of the maintenance of inventories. Specifically, the guidance states that the bulk marijuana ledger should be carefully reviewed for accuracy during the quarterly audits and inventories. Furthermore, the "Nondrug Property (including Firearms) Checklist" used by all domestic divisions during their self-inspection process and the Office of Inspections during its on-site inspections will be used to ensure that inventory discrepancies are identified and corrected in a timely manner.

The Assistant Administrator, Operational Support Division, issued a memorandum on June 10, 1999, to Special Agents in Charge, Resident Agents in Charge, Country Attaches, and Laboratory Directors, to clarify and issue specific instructions for addressing packages of evidence to be shipped. In addition, the Drug Evidence Checklist used during the division self-inspection process and the Office of Inspections' on-site inspections was updated in March 2000 to determine whether the office/laboratory is ensuring that the address of the sender or recipient does not contain terms that would identify the contents of the package sent by commercial carriers as drug evidence.

In a letter dated March 28, 2000, DEA indicated that they issued guidance to DEA's domestic field offices regarding the accounting for marijuana. The guidance specifies the type of information that should be included in the bulk marijuana logbooks, such as date submitted, case number, date seized, amount in kilograms, description, receiving party, releasing party, and date destroyed. The guidance also requires each SAC to inventory its holdings every quarter using the data recorded in the logbook and report the results to the Chief of Operations Management.

In response to GAO's recommendation, DEA's Office of Forensic Sciences issued a memorandum on December 6, 1999, directing all Laboratory Directors to ensure that weights are reported in accordance with DEA policy (LOM 7302.53) and verifications of weights are obtained in accordance with DEA policy (LOM 7302.4.). On August 24, 2000, DEA sent a similar memorandum to its Field Division Offices, directing agents to record weights in accordance with DEA policy.

According to guidance issued on February 8, 2000, DEA's Office of Operations Management was updating the DEA Agents Manual to specifically address GAO's recommendation. In October 2001, DEA provided the relevant sections of the updated manual which address this recommendation. The manual now requires that an agent or other law enforcement officer render all weapons safe prior to transferring the weapon to the nondrug evidence custodian for processing, and that a "flexicuff" or similar item be placed through the open action of the firearm.

According to DEA, DEA Agents Manual, Chapter 6662, currently requires that the weights be recorded on the forms (DEA-12, DEA-7) used to transfer bulk marijuana exhibits. DEA reassessed this current policy to determine whether it required further clarification and whether to make necessary revisions to the DEA Agents Manual. In a letter dated September 13, 2000, DEA stated that it has agreed to revise the Agents Manual to include this requirement. In October 2001, DEA provided the relevant sections from the updated manual that address this recommendation. The revision to the manual clarifies the requirements for documenting the weights for transferring bulk marijuana.

On December 6, 1999, DEA's Office of Forensic Sciences issued a memorandum to all Laboratory Directors directing them to immediately institute a policy requiring chemists to obtain a witness verification for non-DEA exhibits submitted to the laboratory without a gross weight. DEA also revised its laboratory operations manual to reflect this new policy.