Definition of chain of custody?

• A. Account of the whereabouts of evidence from crime scene
• B. The chain of command in the department
• C. The order of evidence collection at a crime scene
• D. The legal liability chain

Answer: (A)

The concept being tested is chain of custody: the documented, unbroken record of who has handled evidence from the moment it’s collected at the scene through every transfer and storage until it’s presented in court. This continuity ensures the evidence’s integrity and admissibility by showing there has been no tampering or alteration. In practice, the record logs who collected the item, when and where, every transfer of possession, any packaging or sealing, storage conditions, and any analyses performed. If this chain is broken or poorly documented, the evidence’s reliability can be challenged in court. The other options describe unrelated ideas: the department’s chain of command (supervisory structure), the order of evidence collection (procedural sequence), and a legal liability chain (not a standard term in evidence handling).