Signature sign on...

[Veronica Rauch]

Hello all... Trying to come to a consensus as to what date a completed examination report should be signed. The day the examiner made the id? The day the verification was completed? The day the technical/admin reviews are complete? Assuming the id/verify dates are reflected in case notes, when is the report finally final? Should the signatures of all personnel involved and dates be reported? I'm not aware of any industry standard, so I'd much appreciate anyone willing to share their agency policies, or their personal opinion with this matter, so we can etch it in stone over here. Thanks a mil!

[sharon cook]

Well...we sign our reports electronically here in Austin, Texas. We sign our reports on the day we write them, after comparisons and verifications (those dates are written next to the identified prints directly on the lift cards or photos and on the exemplars). It's weird, though, because the date on the report changes when the report is transferred from the laboratory computer database to the city-wide computer system that maintains all the police reports for the entire city.

We don't report intermediate dates. Why would you?

[sharon cook]

I should add that the report is dated electronically after the review is finalized and THEN it transfers to the city-wide system.