Best Practices for Evidence Preservation: SNAP

The guidance outlined below provides recommendations to agencies to ensure evidence in sexual assault and other serious crimes is preserved in accordance with relevant regulatory and Penal Law requirements

The acronym SNAP is a quick way to recall the four main components of evidence preservation

• Secure the scene
• Notify law enforcement
• Assess the needs of people receiving services
• Preserve vital evidence 

Secure the Scene

• Limit access to the area of the incident.
• Take a picture of the scene as you found it. Use an agency camera whenever possible.
• Document the names and titles of everyone present at the scene.
• Leave the scene alone. Ask people receiving services, visitors, and personnel to leave the immediate area. 

Notify Law Enforcement

• Call 911 immediately for any active medical emergencies.
• Contact local law enforcement and request immediate assistance with securing evidence.
• Notify the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register (VPCR) at 1-855-373-2122 or use the Justice Center’s secure web form to report the incident.
• Reach out to your licensing agency or the Justice Center regional chief for guidance on next steps.  

Assess Victim Needs

• Prioritize medical evaluation. Ensure the victim receives immediate medical care from a Sexual Assault Forensic Nurse Examiner (SANE) or a hospital following the incident or disclosure.
• Preserve potential evidence by having the victim avoid showering, brushing their teeth, or urinating prior to receiving care and evidence collection.
• Once immediate needs are met, ensure the victim follows up with a primary care provider or gynecologist for any necessary laboratory work or further testing.  
• Do not re-victimize the person receiving services by questioning them about what happened. Allow law enforcement or the Justice Center to take the lead on interviews.  
• Check in on others who may have experienced secondary trauma, including other people receiving services or staff who witnessed or have knowledge of the incident.   

Preserve Vital Evidence

If law enforcement is unable to respond within a reasonable time frame to collect and preserve evidence, staff must act while maintaining a trauma-informed approach. Providing the victim with necessary medical aid is always the priority. 

Physical Evidence (Clothing, Objects)

• After you have taken photographs of the scene as it was found, put on gloves before handling physical evidence. Collect clothing or other items and place them in separate paper bags (never plastic). Seal the paper bags with tape and sign your name directly over the seal.  
• If the person receiving services is still wearing the clothing or bedding involved in the incident, have them undress over examination paper or a clean bed sheet to collect any evidence that falls off.
• Document all actions on an evidence log. Include the name of the program, the date/time of collection, the name/title of the collector, a detailed description of the evidence, and where the evidence will be stored until law enforcement or the Justice Center arrives.  

Demonstrative Evidence (Photos, Video)

• For demonstrative evidence, like pictures and video surveillance, ensure staff know where the agency camera is to use for pictures. Staff should receive training on how to use cameras and videos. Take pictures from various angles, including close-up, mid-range, and distance shots. Use a ruler or a common object (like a coin) next to any marks, bruises, or abrasions to provide a scale of comparison.  
• Photograph relevant areas even if there are no visible marks. The absence of a physical mark can also be evidence. 

Documentary Evidence (Records)

• Securely store staff schedules, assignment sheets, communication logs, and relevant video footage from the time period in question.  
• Log all gathered documents on the log sheet and maintain a strict chain of custody. Keep agency policies, signed code of conduct forms, and training records readily available upon request.  

These case studies are designed for use in staff training and are loosely based on real Justice Center cases. Names, settings, and other identifying details have been changed.

Scenario #1  

Irene and Lillian live in a two-bedroom IRA. Both women require total, 24/7 care from staff, are unable to communicate verbally, and cannot consent to sexual activity. While cleaning the bathroom at the residence, Maureen, a Direct Support Professional, notices a used condom in the trash can. Maureen knows Irene sometimes tries to eat inedible objects, so she closes the trash bag and puts it in the dumpster for pick-up. When Maureen’s supervisor comes on shift, she reports that she changed the trash to safeguard Irene from attempting to swallow anything in the garbage and mentions the condom specifically. Maureen’s supervisor immediately reports the incident to the Justice Center and sends Irene and Lillian to the hospital for an exam with a specially trained nurse. Unfortunately, the city waste department had already picked up the trash, so the condom could not be retrieved as evidence.  

What went well with the way this incident was handled?  

• Maureen recognized the need to safeguard Irene from the items in the garbage that posed a pica risk.  
• Maureen’s supervisor immediately reported the incident to the Justice Center.  
• Irene and Lillian were sent for an examination with a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE).  

Case Concerns  

• Maureen did not immediately report the discovery of the used condom to her supervisor, to law enforcement, or to the Justice Center.  
• Maureen’s actions, while well-intentioned, caused the loss of evidence in a potential sexual assault of people receiving services.

Scenario #2

Heidi is a person receiving services who was recently admitted to a local behavioral health unit at a hospital after a suicide attempt at her community residence. Heidi was having a hard time falling asleep one evening and asked Lou, a mental health aide, if he could take her to the nurse’s station for medication to help her sleep. Lou shared that when he cannot sleep, he masturbates, and that helps. He offered to masturbate with Heidi so that she could fall asleep and said, “If you help me, I will help you,” and they began performing oral sex on each other. Afterward, they both used a washcloth to clean up. A couple of days later, Heidi reports this to a nurse while taking her medications. The nurse called the hospital’s security office. A hospital security guard responded to the unit and asked Heidi for the clothing she had been wearing when the incident occurred. She turned over her undergarments and the washcloth they used to clean up. The security guard placed the items in a plastic bag and stored the bag in a hot and humid locker. Notifications were made to the Justice Center and hospital administration; Heidi was sent for a SANE exam and was provided with supportive counseling. Video surveillance was also collected, and Lou was placed on leave

A week later, the security officer resigned from the hospital, and he forgot about the evidence in the locker. By the time hospital administration found it and turned it over to law enforcement, the forensic evidence was negatively impacted due to improper storage.

What went well with the way this incident was handled?

• The security office was immediately contacted to help with the evidence collection.
• Heidi was sent for a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) exam and was provided with support.
• Video surveillance was preserved.
• The subject staff was placed on administrative leave.

Case Concerns

• Although the security guard collected the evidence the items were stored in a plastic bag, instead of separate paper bags, and the bag was stored in a hot, humid location.
• The hospital did not check the security guard’s locker prior to his resignation so the evidence was negatively impacted due to improper storage.

Scenario #3

James is a person receiving services in a residential school who tells the school’s principal that during recess the previous day, a student named Chase pushed him against a wall, strangled him, and tried to kiss him on the mouth. James reported that Chase bit James’ mouth and showed the principal a red mark on his inner lip. The principal grabbed his iPhone and took close-up pictures of the cut in James’ mouth, contacted the legal guardians for both people, and sent James to the school counselor for support. The principal also called the Justice Center to report the incident.

What went well with the way this incident was handled?

• The principal took picture evidence of the injuries inside James’ mouth.
• Notifications were made to the Justice Center and the legal guardians of the youth.
• James was provided with support from the school counselor.

Case Concerns

• The principal used his personal phone to capture pictures of the injuries, instead of an agency camera.
• The close-up pictures made it difficult to ascertain the size of the cut inside James’ mouth.
• Pictures were not taken of other areas on James’ face, like his neck and eyes, which can both show signs of being strangled.