This places very strong requirements on the integrity of the chain of custody, and in particular on the personnel involved and the duty of care of the organisation responsible.
The reduction in the handling of the original evidence lessens the likelihood of deliberate tampering or accidental contamination and reduces chain of custody requirements and overheads.
Storage facilities for evidence can vary in size from a single secure cabinet in an office to large dedicated warehouses.
In addition, hi-density style systems can lock off specific aisles for the various degrees of security often needed for items such as guns and drugs.
Larger storage facilities will also provide environmentally controlled sections, for example, cold rooms or freezers, for the preservation of evidence.
Highly desirable pieces of evidence such as precious metals, currency, jewelry, firearms, and drugs often require higher levels of storage to protect them from theft, and reentry into the criminal environment.
Large volumes of evidence will require larger containers typically able to be handled using a fork lift.