Police improve at keeping exhibits

One bicycle theft compares favourably to number stolen in previous break-ins

The Regina Police Service has done a better job of holding onto seized property over the past 23 months, with just a single bike theft from its evidence management unit.

That compares favourably with the 18 bikes stolen from the same space during a wave of break-ins in 2017 and early 2018.

Through a freedom of information request, the Leader-post sought details on items lost or stolen from police custody since March 2018, to follow up on whether additional security measures have made any difference.

The only stolen item was a $650 bicycle that was taken from the unit sometime between July 2018 and October 2019.

But police did report eight items lost since March 2018.

Four items were lost by officers, according to the document police provided.

That included a $100 counterfeit bill, a paper containing screen shots from a phone, a USB key and a paring knife.

The other four items disappeared from the evidence management unit. That included a consent form, rubber tubing, pliers and an item described as a “stun baton/ flashlight.”

None of the property has since been recovered.

Most of the lost items were considered evidence, though the paring knife was simply “found property” while the bike was classified as “seized.”

Asked Tuesday about the wayward items, Regina police spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich noted improvements that were made to the evidence management unit since the wave of thefts in 2016 and 2017.

She said the compound was already protected by fencing, but the fencing was later reinforced.

Other improvements included better lighting and changes to video security.

The wave of bike thefts in 2017 and 2018 took place in three separate incidents.

Popowich suggested at the time that the thief or thieves may have entered through a breach in the fence.

Police process tens of thousands of pieces of evidence every year. In serious cases like murder, they might have to hold onto evidence indefinitely.

Popowich had earlier estimated the total number of items in evidence likely runs into hundreds of thousands of items.