Audit Report on the Cash and Firearm Custody Controls of the Manhattan Property Clerk Division of the Police Department

AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

The Property Clerk Division (PCD) of the Police Department (NYPD) accepts, catalogs, and safeguards all property brought into its custody. The types of property accepted by PCD include cash, narcotics, rifles, handguns, and general property of varying description. The property is categorized as arrest evidence, investigatory, safekeeping, or decedent’s property. The NYPD has established five PCD offices, one in each borough, to accept and safeguard the property in custody. This audit focused on the Manhattan PCD office and its controls over two types of property: cash (from an arrest and investigation of a criminal case) and firearms (handguns and rifles)—both susceptible to theft and, in the case of the firearms, a matter of public safety.

This audit determined whether the Manhattan Property Clerk Division of the NYPD has adequate controls over the custody, return, and disposition of cash and firearms.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

The Manhattan PCD’s controls over the custody, return, and disposition of cash are generally adequate. However, the controls over the custody, return, and disposition of firearms were inadequate and require immediate attention to address the following conditions:

• Manhattan PCD officials could not immediately account for or retrieve from their designated storage 94 (29%) of the 324 sampled firearms brought in for safekeeping. Several attempts were made over a number of weeks before the firearms were found or accounted for.

• The Manhattan PCD failed to record pertinent information in its documents that would permit it to readily track and account for the firearms in its custody. For instance, the logbooks were either incomplete or had inaccurate information recorded in them.

• Rifles were stored in a disheveled manner. During our observation of the rifle storage area, we saw rifles on the floor and rifles piled one on top of the other; and we noted that some of the rifles lacked identifying tags.

• Firearms were kept by the Manhattan PCD office longer than required by NYPD regulations, which require that firearms be reclaimed or disposed of after the expiration of one year.

• The Manhattan PCD cannot accurately account for the number of firearms in its custody since there are no written NYPD procedures governing inventory of firearms in the custody of the PCD offices. In addition, the Manhattan PCD does not keep adequate sequential numbering systems.

Audit Recommendations

Based on our findings, we make 13 recommendations, including that the NYPD should:

• Overhaul the rifle storage area of the Manhattan PCD so it can store rifles according to the year received and provide a storage system that will keep the rifles separate one from the other on the shelves.

• Consider replacing the manual system with a computerized system to improve the controls over the handling of property brought into PCD custody.

• Ensure that the Manhattan PCD follow the procedures governing the destruction of firearms after the allotted time of one year, as required by the Penal Law.

• Implement a system that red-flags firearms that are stored at the Manhattan PCD facility beyond one year and identifies the date after which they should be sent to Pearson Place for destruction.

• Immediately inventory all firearms in the Manhattan PCD’s possession.

• Establish written procedures that require that the Manhattan PCD conduct and maintain an inventory system to accurately account for all firearms that are in its custody, as well as firearms that are returned and disposed of.

NYPD Response

In their response, NYPD officials generally agreed with four recommendations. Officials also determined that eight recommendations, while valid, are unnecessary because they call for actions or policies that were planned or existed independent of the audit and stated that another recommendation requires further analysis and evaluation.