Skamania County did not have a system to effectively track agency assets and evidence or other items held in custody by the sheriff’s office, according to an audit by the state covering 2022-2023.
The audit, released Monday by the Office of the Washington State Auditor, identified two areas of concern: the tracking and monitoring of small and attractive assets and the maintenance of items held in custody.
The report found that “while the office has processes to manage small and attractive assets and items held in custody, it does not have adequate controls to ensure effective tracking and safeguarding of these items.”
Small, attractive assets
Skamania County is responsible for establishing a policy to monitor, track and safeguard small and attractive assets — agency equipment that can include firearms, tactical and safety equipment, cameras, cellphones, radios and body-worn cameras. The sheriff’s office carries out that policy.
The auditor’s office reviewed policy and procedures and found several areas of concern, according to the report.
The county could not provide documentation for any recent physical inventory to verify custody. The sheriff’s office did not tag assets with identifying numbers to differentiate similar items, and did not independently verify deputies were in possession of their assigned firearms, the report said.
Additionally, the employee responsible for keeping track of the inventory of firearms, body cameras and Tasers had access to firearm safes without the proper controls.
The report also found two other employees could access firearm safes, and the sheriff’s office could not track that access.
“The Office did not adopt sufficient policies to address procedures to track and monitor small and attractive assets and items held in custody,” the report said. “Without adequate segregation of duties and independent review of asset listings and items held in custody, there is an increased risk for potential error, misuse and misappropriation.”
Skamania County Sheriff Summer Scheyer said the sheriff’s office is following recommendations outlined in the report and is already working to address other issues uncovered during the audit.
“The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office welcomes these findings, as we continue to make steps to improve policies, procedures, and documentation under a new administration and direction,” Scheyer said in the report.
Property held in custody
The sheriff’s office is also responsible for keeping track of property held in custody, including evidence related to crimes, found property and seized and forfeited property.
The report found the sheriff’s office:
- Did not ensure information in its inventory system was accurate and up to date;
- Had returned or disposed of multiple items that were documented as still in the agency’s possession;
- Had not recently conducted inventory in the property room.
The auditor’s office selected 15 items to verify physical custody controls and was unable to locate three items, two of which were firearms, the report said.
The state also investigated five items that the sheriff’s office said had been disposed of. The sheriff’s office could not provide documentation to verify the disposal of two of those items, which were drugs.
The report also found, “the office experienced turnover in positions responsible for providing oversight and has not had sufficient training on internal controls for these areas.”
Scheyer said the sheriff’s office is in the process of integrating new software to replace the current system for tracking and monitoring small and attractive assets, including internal tracking to incorporate bar codes and serial numbers.
The agency will also draft a new policy that outlines oversight of inventories, documentation retention and independent inventories, Scheyer said.
“I think this is a great opportunity that the state comes in and looks at things, because sometimes you don’t know something is a problem until you find out, right?” Scheyer said. “So it’s been really great to be able to have this opportunity to have our agency audited.”
