Property & Evidence

The Property and Evidence Section of the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office is tasked with the responsibility of securing all evidence obtained by members of the department during the course of the Deputies’ investigations. The Property and Evidence Section is responsible for releasing or disposing of evidence when it is no longer deemed of evidentiary value by the Courts, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, or the Deputies themselves. The section receives, on average, about 800 cases a year. On average, items related to 6,000 cases are stored in the Evidence Section. From murder to trespassing, and all the major cases worked by the Kanawha Bureau of Investigation, our evidence room houses all types of items. This section is required to maintain a good working relationship with others, including the West Virginia State Police Crime Lab, the FBI lab, and other law enforcement agencies throughout the country.

Additionally, Property and Evidence workers take, store, and transport DNA samples of convicted felons. These samples are added to law enforcement databases maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The samples may be compared to evidentiary DNA around the country.