PORT ANGELES – The Clallam County Sheriff’s Department soon will get new electronic locks for its evidence room, as part of a system that will not allow unattended access
The Clallam County Board of Commissioners approved Tuesday spending $6,000 for new locks and $15,000 for a part-time employee to install and prepare them.
Commissioners did not announce when the locks would be installed.
The new locks will be a response to problems with the evidence room that were revealed in 2005 and 2006, and are still unresolved.
Staci L. Allison, the department’s evidence custodian, was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 28, while the State Patrol investigated the disappearance of an undisclosed amount of money – described as “in the thousands” by Sheriff Bill Benedict – that had been logged as evidence.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Department Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said Tuesday that Allison remains employed by the department, and that the investigation continues.
The new locks are “a complete and direct result of the investigation by the State Patrol of the problems and weakness of the evidence system,” County Administrator Jim Jones told the county commissioners.
