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Who Can See Evidence Collected By Police? (Uk)
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As you can see from my username, I'm a (bad) author, and I need an answer because I care too much about getting facts right.
In my story, a private detective wants to see some items of evidence that were collected by the police at the scene of someone's death (which may or may not have been a suicide, by drugs overdose). The police did not consider the death as worthy of criminal investigation, but collected medicine containers and an empty spirits bottle, and took photographs of where blood remained due to the deceased (apparently) falling on the stairs before he was found and taken to hospital (he then died).
There will be a coroner's inquest later in the story.
Would a private detective be allowed to examine this kind of evidence?
What if he/she were employed by the family of the deceased, who suspect that the deceased was murdered?
Would the evidence be stored at the local police station prior to the coroner's inquest, or elsewhere?
Thanks for any help!
In my story, a private detective wants to see some items of evidence that were collected by the police at the scene of someone's death (which may or may not have been a suicide, by drugs overdose). The police did not consider the death as worthy of criminal investigation, but collected medicine containers and an empty spirits bottle, and took photographs of where blood remained due to the deceased (apparently) falling on the stairs before he was found and taken to hospital (he then died).
There will be a coroner's inquest later in the story.
Would a private detective be allowed to examine this kind of evidence?
What if he/she were employed by the family of the deceased, who suspect that the deceased was murdered?
Would the evidence be stored at the local police station prior to the coroner's inquest, or elsewhere?
Thanks for any help!
Answers
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The property could well be stored in the property office of the Police station where the investigating officer is based (usually local to the address) which is normally presided over by one or two civilian employees whose sole job is the logging, sttorage and eventual disposal of property.
These employees are sometimes ex-police officers or sometimes Police officers bearing an injury and on 'light duties'.
Any of these property officers could walk out of the Police station on his lunch break with the property and replace it after a meet with minimal risk of discovery.
Blood samples are a different matter - they are stored in fridges by the SOCO's and would be harder to access.
Photographs would be with the investigation file.
Leastways - that's how it would have happened in the Met when I was 'in'.
These employees are sometimes ex-police officers or sometimes Police officers bearing an injury and on 'light duties'.
Any of these property officers could walk out of the Police station on his lunch break with the property and replace it after a meet with minimal risk of discovery.
Blood samples are a different matter - they are stored in fridges by the SOCO's and would be harder to access.
Photographs would be with the investigation file.
Leastways - that's how it would have happened in the Met when I was 'in'.
In cases which go to trial in the Crown Court, the defence have a right to examine physical exhibits before the trial. The reason is that these are just as much evidence as witness statements are.
Coroners are a law unto themselves or, rather, to laws which make their powers and their procedure different from that in criminal courts. There is no 'defence' since nobody is on trial. It is an inquest conducted by the coroner and nobody's representative has the right to ask questions of witnesses, though the coroner may allow them some, and usually does.
So the short answer is no. The private detective has no standing. If he is employed by the family, he still has no standing. It is possible, that on informing the coroner, he or she might allow, at the coroner's invitation, someone other than police officers and police doctors to examine exhibits but only to help the coroner in the inquest into the cause of death. Sam Spade himself would be unlikely to satisfy the coroner in that regard !
Coroners are a law unto themselves or, rather, to laws which make their powers and their procedure different from that in criminal courts. There is no 'defence' since nobody is on trial. It is an inquest conducted by the coroner and nobody's representative has the right to ask questions of witnesses, though the coroner may allow them some, and usually does.
So the short answer is no. The private detective has no standing. If he is employed by the family, he still has no standing. It is possible, that on informing the coroner, he or she might allow, at the coroner's invitation, someone other than police officers and police doctors to examine exhibits but only to help the coroner in the inquest into the cause of death. Sam Spade himself would be unlikely to satisfy the coroner in that regard !
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