The South Australia Police (SAPOL) recently invited a journalist from the Sunday Mail to tour the new Southern Property Exhibit Facility.
This came in the wake of SAPOL working through several implementation issues with staff at the warehouse-style facility, including a number of health, welfare and safety matters which have been reviewed.
Two improvement notices from SafeWork SA have also been received and are being acted upon under agreed time frames.
The facility, which commenced operating in October and covers more than 13,000sqm, has a range of storage areas designed to hold and preserve specific materials, including drugs, firearms, DNA, high-end valuables, bicycles, vehicles and documents.
Several spaces have specific additional security features, climatic controls providing for steady humidity and temperature or negative room pressure.
The high-tech facility, which is in addition to two other storage facilities in Adelaide, also has fridges and freezers to store DNA evidence while an on-site generator is in place to ensure no disruption if power is cut to the area.
Police are able to access the property 24/7, towing services can also access part of the facility around the clock and it is open during business hours for members of the public who may need to collect vehicles or property.
It is estimated the central location will save up to $100,000 a year in towing fees and the development of a similar facility in the north of Adelaide is under consideration.
A subsequent story was published in the Sunday Mail on 10 March 2019 with the headline "DNA DEBACLE". The Commissioner felt that the the sensational headline unfairly and incorrectly called into question the professionalism of investigators and crime scene examiners (who collect DNA samples) as well as the staff responsible for managing the storage of exhibits generally.
As a result, last week the Commissioner wrote a letter to the Editor of The Advertiser/ Sunday Mail expressing these views. To date that letter has not been published in either newspaper and is reproduced below for your information.
Commissioner's letter to the Editor
I again find myself compelled to respond to a headline, this one being "DNA Debacle" (Sunday Mail, 10 March, 2019), which was associated with our new evidence storage facility.
At its most general, the assertion of a debacle suggests a failure by SAPOL in the management of DNA evidence because of bad planning and processes. This could not be further from the truth.
SAPOL has well established robust practices, policies and procedures in the handling of DNA and related exhibits – including those from historical 'cold case' investigations. A testament to this is the successful conviction of Dieter Pfennig for the 1983 murder of Louise Bell where 'cold case' DNA evidence was critical in this prosecution.
I would like to re-assure the public of South Australia that there have been no reported incidents whereby DNA evidence has been inadvertently destroyed or damaged whilst in transition to; or at the new evidence storage facility since it commenced operation.
The SAPOL facility is a purpose built state of the art building. It has quality refrigeration equipment for DNA sample storage and specific temperature and humidity climate controlled rooms for the retention of larger long term items.
The sensational headline unfairly and incorrectly calls into question the professionalism of investigators and crime scene examiners (whom collect DNA samples) as well as staff responsible for managing the storage of exhibits generally.
The community can feel confident that SAPOL is taking all practical measures to ensure the integrity and safe handling of DNA exhibits; and all other exhibits stored at the new facility.
I can also confirm that SAPOL is actively responding to issues commented on by SafeWork SA regarding the overall climate management of the broader facility as it relates to our workforce; and on handling the metal cage storage equipment. This is not related to the issue of DNA sampling and retention.
Commissioner Grant Stevens
