When a security guard takes possession of physical evidence pending police arrival, the 'chain of custody' principle requires:

Question

Accepted Answer

Documenting who handled the evidence, when, where, and for what purpose — from discovery through transfer to police — in an unbroken, recorded chain; gaps or unrecorded transfers undermine authentication (Evidence Code §1400 et seq.) and may render the evidence inadmissible

Answer

Photographing the evidence carefully from several angles and then discarding the item itself, on the view that the photograph is what will actually be shown in court and the physical object adds nothing to it

Answer

Keeping the item in any convenient nearby drawer until the end of the shift and handing it to the supervisor then, so that the guard is not carrying it around the site while continuing to patrol, and so that only one person has touched it before it finally reaches the police

Answer

Allowing any employee to handle the evidence freely, since more people who have seen the item means more witnesses able to confirm at trial what it was and where exactly it came from

When a security guard takes possession of physical evidence pending police arrival, the 'chain of custody' principle requires:

Explanation

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