Strict evidence management guidelines must be in place to prove that certain information was retrieved from a particular piece of hardware. To ensure continuity all movement of exhibits and all persons handling the evidence must be documented. Evidence should be placed in a suitable container and sealed at the time of collection. It should be labelled with appropriate information such as time, date, location, the name of the person collecting the evidence and a description of the evidence. After an exhibit has been collected, filed and documented it should be placed in secure storage.
Secure storage is a holding room with limited access.
This keeps the evidence safe while it waits to be examined or produced in court. An essential part of any scientific or computing procedure is the use of accepted methods and procedures. It is paramount that an expert does not deviate from standard practices when dealing with evidence. To do so can leave the expert open to claims that he or she has omitted important scientific steps and has therefore come to an incorrect conclusion. Every forensic practitioner or expert examiner should employ a set of methods and procedures for all examinations and adhere to them.