Which term describes the controlled process of transferring custody of evidence from one person to another?

• A. Chain of custody
• B. Chain of command
• C. Proof of ownership
• D. Evidence ledger

Answer: (A)

The main concept here is maintaining a documented trail of possession for evidence. Chain of custody means that every time evidence changes hands, there is a careful, auditable record showing who took custody, when, where, and under what conditions, along with any handling steps like packaging or analysis. This continuous, controlled transfer preserves the item’s integrity and supports its admissibility in court, because it demonstrates there have been no unrecorded transfers, alterations, or substitutions. In practice, the process starts at collection, continues through storage and transport, through analysis, and ends with final disposition. Other terms describe different ideas: a chain of command refers to organizational leadership structure, proof of ownership deals with who owns an item, and an evidence ledger is just a generic log rather than the formal, enforced process of transferring custody.