DEFINITION OF TERMS:

 Chain of Custody- refers to a written record of names and dates on the flow of custody
of an item whether as physical evidence or not, which begins when item is collected and
ends when the evidence is disposed.
 Contraband- any item or article inside the jail facility, which is not issued to PDLs by the
BJMP; those that are prohibited by law, which include but not limited to dangerous drugs,
firearms and ammunitions; and those that are considered unauthorized and/or excessive
based on the existing policies whether or not they pose risks.
 Nuisance Contrabands- items or articles possessed by person deprived of liberty (PDL)
without authorization or an authorized item but has been altered from its original
intent/purpose.
 Person Deprived of Liberty (PDL) - are detainees who are incarcerated pending trial
and/or final judgement. It includes all persons who are arrested, detained, imprisoned, or
otherwise under custody of the government authorities. PDLs may be held in jails, prisons,
detention centers, “lock-ups”, hospitals, rehabilitation centers or any authorized facilities.
 Physical Evidence- items with evidentiary value and requires presentation before a court
of justice or administrative tribunal in relation to pending disciplinary, administrative and
criminal proceedings.
 Serious/Dangerous Contrabands- items or articles that are prohibited by law that can
be used to cause death or serious physical injuries.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:
A. Classification of Contrabands

Contrabands as defined, is any item or article inside the jail facility, which is not issued to
the PDLs by the BJMP; those that are prohibited by law, which include but not limited to dangerous
drugs, firearms and ammunitions; and those that are considered unauthorized and/or excessive
based on the existing policies whether or not they pose risks. As provided in Title VII of SOP No
2004-02 “Classification of Contraband Physical Evidence”, the categories of contraband are, as
follows:

1. Weapons, potential weapons

2. Drugs, drug paraphernalia, alcohol, and tobacco products
3. Money or other commodities of exchange such as jewelry
4. Appliances and Gadgets
5. Wearing Apparels and Sleeping Paraphernalia
6. Other miscellaneous property”
For the purpose of this policy and as a revision, contrabands are further classified into two
(2) main categories: (1) Serious/Dangerous Contrabands and (2) Nuisance Contrabands.
Serious/Dangerous contrabands are items or articles that are prohibited by law that can
cause death or serious physical injuries. Contrabands included in this category are firearms
including firearm replicas (toy. guns), ammunition, cellphones, knives, dangerous drugs,
controlled precursors, drug paraphernalia, components of making improvised explosive devices
(IEDs), weapons for biological mass destruction chemical hazards and etc., which may be used
in the commission of a crime or considered potential evidence in a criminal proceeding/s or could
be utilized to assist in or effect an escape, or in anyway undermine the safety and security of the
facility.
Nuisance contrabands are items or articles possessed by a PDL without authorization or
an authorized item but have been altered from its original intent/purpose. Items included are
excessive money, excessive authorized items, unauthorized jewelries, over-the-counter drugs
including unprescribed drugs, gambling paraphernalia, alcoholic beverages and other items that
do not conform to the specifications of authorized items, and such other items that do not fall
under the category of serious/dangerous contrabands.

B. Important Considerations In Managing Contrabands

1. Each jail unit shall have contraband/physical evidence storage system. All items,
if deemed practical, shall be stored in a plastic bag and/or envelope coded in a
numerical order according to their assigned sequential number, then in ascending
order by item number. It is preferable that items should be arranged by calendar
month for easy reference as to the length of time an item has been held in the
storage.

2. Sequential number shall be written in this format:

Office who has the custody on the contraband-year-month-000(should be in ascending order and
should start at 001)
e.g.: A-2017-01-001
A-NHQ K-BJMPRO9
B-BJMPRO1 L-BJMPRO10
C-BJMPRO2 M-BJMPRO11
D-BJMPRO3 N-BJMPRO12
E-BJMPRO-CALABARZON O-BJMPRO-NCR
F-BJMPRO-MIMAROPA P-BJMPRO-CARAGA
G-BJMPRO5 Q-BJMPRO-CAR
H-BJMPRO6 R-BJMPRO-NIR
I-BJMPRO7 S-BJMPRO-ARMM
J-BJMRO8 T-BJMPJail Unit
3. The jail investigation unit shall ensure proper security in the storage of physical
evidence. Wardens, Regional Director or Director for Operations shall have the
discretion to place security mechanisms to storage systems. Unless otherwise
authorized by the Warden, Regional Director or Director for Operations as the case
may be, only the property custodian shall have access to all contraband items
under his/her watch.

4. Ideally, physical evidence should not be stored with other contrabands but should
have a separate storage for evidence preservations, and should have the same
security mechanisms in place.

5. Each person receiving the physical evidence from the property custodian shall fill-
up the CPMC Form No. 2 Chain of Custody Form and may be subject to a
subpoena to testify in court/s regarding the possession of that physical evidence.

6. Contrabands having no discernable value or use, and is not traceable to a specific

PDL should be tagged, stored and shall be disposed according to the existing
guidelines.

7. Contraband and physical evidence shall be inventoried every month to ensure

proper accountability.
 8. This policy adopts some provisions in Title XII Documentation Requirements of
SOP Number 2004-02 Documentation Requirements.

A. Contraband/Evidence Tags
The following information will be recorded on the “Contraband/Physical Evidence Tag”
(CPMC Form No. 1), by any personnel who discovers the item/s that was/were seized:
a. Sequential number
b. Number of items tagged
c. Description of item/s with identifying marks
d. Location where item/s seized
e. Nature of crime/reason for seizure
f. Date and time item/s were seized
g. Name of person where items were seized
h. Personal and criminal circumstances of the person (PDL/visitor/personnel) from
whom item/s was seized
i. Other information
j. Witness
k. Printed name and signature of officer preparing the tag
l. A record chain of custody to document each person handling the item/s

B. Contraband/Physical Evidence Logs

a. Sequential number
b. Number of items tagged
c. Description of item/s, including brand and model numbers and any other identifying
marks
d. Location where items were seized
e. Nature of crime/ reason for seizure
f. Date and time items were seized
g. Name of person who seized the item
h. Identification of person from whom the items was seized
i. Date, time, and signature of contraband/physical evidence custodian receiving the
item/s

9. Any time an item is removed from contraband or physical evidence area, an entry
shall be made next to the original entry indicating the name of the person removing
the item, purpose of removal, and the date and time item/s was removed and
returned.
10. When the item/s is finally disposed, an entry shall be made next to the original
entry indicating the date and the time of removal, method of destruction, and the
name of the authorized person destroying/receiving the items. The
contraband/physical evidence tag shall be filed and maintained by the Property
Custodian.

C. Property Custodian
There shall be a personnel designated as Property Custodian. Preferably, he/she
should have excellent organization and record-keeping skills and possess a keen
attention to details. He/She may hold other designation/s aside from being a
custodian, which shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
1. Take care of all contrabands confiscated from inmates, visitors and
personnel and turned over to him/her for safekeeping.
2. Receive contraband items and documentation of the same, assigning
sequential numbers.
3. Process requests of physical evidence for court presentation.
4. 4. Conduct monthly inventory of items and audit records to ensure accuracy
and in cases of discrepancies, he/she shall recommend the same to a
competent authority for investigation.