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- 1. LOTTERIES Calgary: today, amix of sun and cloud. High 17. Low 2 Olds, Sundre: to- day, a mix of sun and cloud. High 17. Low-5 Rocky, Nordegg : to- day, cloudy. High 13. Low-8 Banff: today, increas- ing cloudiness. High 12. Low -1. Jasper: today, in- creasing cloudiness. High 11. Low -7. Lethbridge: today, clearing in the morn- ing. High 18. Low 4. Edmonton: today, a mix of sun and cloud. High 13 Low -4. Grande Prairie: to- day, cloudy. High 10 Low -6. Fort McMurray: to- day, cloudy. High 13 Low -10. LOCAL TODAY TONIGHT SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY REGIONAL OUTLOOK WINDCHILL/SUNLIGHT GRANDE PRAIRIE 10/-6 JASPER 11/-7 BANFF 12/-1 EDMONTON 13/-4 RED DEER 16/-5 CALGARY 17/2 FORT MCMURRAY 13/-10 FRIDAY Lotto Max: 2, 8, 10, 15, 17, 20, 24 bonus: 14 Western Max: 2, 12, 15, 23, 24, 26, 43, bonus: 3 Extra: 6173392 Pick 3: 075 A mix of sun and cloud Clear Sunny. Low -5. A mix of sun and cloud. Low -3 Sunny. Low -5 HIGH 16 LOW -5 HIGH 7 HIGH 8 HIGH 12 TONIGHT’S HIGHS/LOWS LETHBRIDGE 18/4 WEATHER Windchill/frostbite risk: low Low: Low risk Moderate: 30 minutes exposure High -5 to 10 minutes: High risk in 5 to 10 minutes High -2 to 5 minutes: High risk in 2 to 5 minutes Extreme: High risk in 2 minutes Sunset tonight: 7:38 p.m. Sunrise Sunday: 7:50 a.m. Everything that comes into the hall via a police officer is meticulously tracked through strict proce- dures and protocols. Neither the police officers nor the public are al- lowed to enter where the exhibits are kept. When officers need to access an exhibit, for a court case for example, they must sign it out through the custo- dians. Red Deer RCMP Sgt. Rob Marsollier said continu- ity of all the processes is very important to protect the integrity of the evidence. “How do you know that O.J. Simpson did not touch this glove?” said Marsollier. “Because it went from here to here to here.” The custodians have the only two keys to the ex- hibits hall, including the drug room, main exhibits, DNA dryers and the main area. In the unlikelihood that they have to testify in court, they have to be able to say no one touched or tampered with the evidence. Brown, who has worked in exhibits since 2007, has not been called to testify but there is always the pos- sibility. “The officers are responsible for their exhibits because they are the ones who have to testify in court,” said Brown. “They will take their stuff out and bag it into the evidence bags.” Bloody or wet clothing recovered from homicides or assaults, and other serious crimes, are dried in one of two drying rooms in the exhibits hall before being bagged and filed with the other exhibits. Red Deer is one of the few detachments in Central Alberta that has DNA dryers. Brown said it is not unusual for other police agencies to use them. The police officer dries the evidence and retains the key to the room while it is drying and before it is prop- erly bagged and stored. The items from the victim and the accused are dried separately to avoid cross contamination. Officers may also use the rooms to collect hair or DNA samples from bedding or other materials. A few years ago, Innisfail RCMP used the dryers to dry evidence from a homicide at the Bowden In- stitution. “Clothing was just sopping wet with blood,” said Brown. In one file alone, there could be 150 exhibits. One time, the two custodians worked out of a trailer at a homicide scene because hundreds of exhibits had to be collected, logged and tracked. Investigators felt it would streamline the system to have them key the in- formation into a laptop as the investigators collected and bagged the evidence. Because Brown and her partner handle every file that comes into the exhibits, they have logged every- thing from the gruesome to the downright bizarre. In a domestic abuse case that Brown calls “our own Fifty Shades of Grey in Red Deer,” police recov- ered an explicit signed sex contract between a hus- band and wife. “It was very specific to what her daily duties would be for him,” said Brown. “It was very interest- ing. The accessories or toys for evidence were very interesting. That was one of the most bizarre things.” A few years ago, $40,000 was found in a furnace in an unoccupied basement suite. The furnace stopped working so the woman who lived upstairs called the repairman, who discovered blocks of cash in a Block- buster bag. Brown said the repairman was honest and turned the money in and that led to a fairly big “proceeds of crime” file. There are also items that hit close to home, like toys that accidently strangled a child and the crime scene photos from a gruesome murder or sexual as- sault. But the women know they have a job to do and they try not to take their work home with them. A good portion of the items are tested for verifica- tion and identification at labs in various parts of the country. Usually it’s the exhibits that will be used in a court case or unrecognizable drugs. Clothing and other evidence from sexual assaults, homicides, national security issues and other severe crimes are always sent for testing. Evidence in a case such as one involving drugs is sent to the lab when the accused enters a not-guilty plea, typically at his first appearance. “It looks like marijuana, it smells like marijuana but you have to provide a scientific certificate basi- cally confirming it is marijuana,” said Brown. A firearm may be sent to the lab to verify it is a gun or for ballistic testing to ensure it was not used in another crime. There are retention periods for the exhibits, based on severity of the crime. Exhibits from unsolved sexual assaults are kept for 70 years. Exhibits from solved cases are retained for 20 years. The evidence is kept indefinitely for ho- micides, regardless if the case is solved or unsolved. Drugs are stored for a minimum of six months and staff must get authorization from Health Canada to burn the drugs. Firearms are always destroyed after they are no longer needed for court. The one exception is when police do not have an example of the firearm in their collection. Police can use the weapons as part of their investigations, pinpointing firearms from vari- ous eras or calibre type. In some cases, items (other than drugs) are re- turned to the owner, depending on what the court or- ders. Cash is deposited with the Solicitor General’s office until the court decides on the matter. Some items may end up at police auctions. Key evidence or that of a biological nature from homicides is held indefinitely. In some cases, there could be hundreds of exhibits from a homicide. Police remain optimistic that one day the evi- dence that is stored for decades will be the key to solving historical crimes because of the advance- ments in technology. “There’s a lot that will remain in here for long past our lifespan because you never know what the advancements in science are going to be in 10 years or 20 years from now,” said Marsollier. Marsollier said DNA testing has led to convictions that might not have been possible if the evidence from 20 years ago was thrown away. Several boxes from the unsolved “gentleman rap- ist” files from the early 1990s may just represent one of those crimes. The accused was given the moniker because he had been “quite apologetic” about his actions. Eight cases remain unsolved. crhyno@reddeeradvocate.com Photo by Crystal Rhyno/Advocate staff Bonnie Brown is one of the exhibits custodians who oversee the evidence exhibits at the Red Deer RCMP police station. Here, Brown looks over material in a drug information kit. STORY FROM PAGE A1 EVIDENCE:Integrity of exhibits must be provable A2 RED DEER ADVOCATE Saturday, March 14, 2015 3110 GAETZ AVE., RED DEER LOCAL 403-347-3301 TOLL FREE 1-800-661-0995 www.pikewheaton.com 2014 Chevrolet Silverado Duck Commander 4x4 Stk#30980 Heated/Cooled Custom Leather, Sunroof, Navigation, Driver Alert Pkg Was $ 64,030 NOW $ 49,900* *Price includes $400 Doc.Fee,$6.25AMVIC fee,$20TireTax,Excludes GST 54524C14 You can get stolen goods back Police want residents to report crimes and to mark their property. Red Deer RCMP Sgt. Rob Marsollier said this will increase the likelihood that stolen items will one day be returned to the owners. The exhibits hall is brimming with found and stolen property that police have no way of returning to the owners. While some people do not want to bother police about theft from a vehicle, it may help them get back their items and allow police to close files. Recently police were able to return a large amount of tools to an individual who report- ed them stolen. About a month later, the man got his tools back because he put his name on them. To report a non-urgent crime, call the RCMP Complaint Line at 403-343-5575 or visit a local RCMP office during office hours. Visit www. reddeer.ca and search RCMP to find out more about police services. Alberta Liberal Laurie Blakeman endorsed by two other parties in Edmonton-Centre EDMONTON — Alberta Liberal Laurie Blakeman will run for re-election in the Edmonton-Centre rid- ing with the help of two other political parties. The Alberta Party and the Green Party have also nominated her as their candidate, but she will be listed on the ballot as a Liberal. Blakeman called the move an historic first step to- ward unifying progressive voters in the province. “I believe the joining of forces by the three par- ties is essential to provide Alberta voters a centrist alternative to the (Progressive) Conservatives,” she said Friday. Blakeman said she plans to put the logos of all three parties on her campaign literature. Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann said he shares Blakeman’s concerns about the need for pro- gressive parties to co-operate. He called her move a symbolic gesture that will give all progressive Albertans hope. He noted the looming provincial election expect- ed to be called this spring is too close for the Liber- als to do more. “I support Laurie and I thank her for her decision to run under the Liberal banner while uniting with others,” he said. Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark said he was “thrilled” with Blakeman’s decision.