D.C. child abuse cases left in hallways, unlocked rooms
By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
November 3, 2009
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| Sex abuse case files were found out in the open at a D.C. police division office. (Courtesy of D.C. inspector general ) |
An inspection of the Metropolitan Police Department's youth investigations division revealed dozens of boxes containing confidential child sex abuse files and videotapes piled on the floors of hallways and in unlocked rooms, investigators say.
Tightly restricted records that by law "shall not be open to public inspection" or disclosed for public review were left in the open for anybody with access to the division to see, the D.C. Inspector General found as it observed the facility.
The inspectors, during a review of the police department's division office at 1700 Rhode Island Ave. NE, spotted more than 75 boxes of physical and sexual abuse case records in an unlocked, unattended room. In an unlocked closet, inspectors found boxes of missing persons cases and more sexual abuse records.
In yet another unlocked room and a basement hallway were more than 45 boxes of videotapes that may include interviews with victims and suspects. And in an unlocked cabinet were forms that include juvenile arrest records and Social Security numbers.
While visitors are escorted by police staff, the IG wrote in a management alert, an unaccompanied summer jobs participant was seen working in one area while a copier technician was in another. The cleaning staff also is unescorted.
The division lacks "adequate storage space to secure all records," the report states, citing a division manager. It "may be feasible," one person told IG staff, "to install locks to secure [Youth Investigations Division]records and provide keys to all employees who need access to the records."
The inspectors also reported the Youth Investigations Division employees are forced to work in potentially dangerous conditions. Inside the building were materials that may contain asbestos, broken floor tiles, degraded pipe insulation, and evidence of rat infestation, including rat droppings.
The IG directed Police Chief Cathy Lanier to secure all confidential materials and to work with the D.C. Department of Real Estate Services to ensure the building is safe.
In a written response to the alert, Assistant Chief Peter Newsham said the division "has already began a process to scan and store abuse cases electronically." Once that is done, he said, the hard copies, including the videotapes, will be transferred to a federal records center in Suitland or destroyed.
Newsham also wrote that a building inspection was conducted Oct. 5 and a plan and work orders were created to test for asbestos, to control pests and to resolve water leaks.
