Police Chief: How to Store Evidence and Manage Precinct Inventory

To store evidence and manage property in Police Chief, secure items during patrol, return to the Winston Springs precinct, and use the UI prompt at main processing lockers or shelves to swap items out of your officer's personal inventory. Keeping your personal inventory clear is necessary to perform arrests and interact with suspects without interruption.

Processing Field Evidence and Property

When securing items during field calls or patrols, check the item tags immediately. The game distinguishes between general clutter and actionable case evidence:

Actionable Evidence: Required for case progression. Transfer these items directly to designated evidence lockers or racks in the main intake area.
General Property: Non-essential recovered items. Store these separately from case evidence to avoid cluttering primary investigation shelves.
Debris: Trash and unwanted clutter. Move these items to trash receptacles to free up processing space.

Carrying too many items on patrol caps your inventory, preventing officers from handcuffing suspects or handling physical objects during incidents. Empty your inventory at the station after every call.

Managing Precinct Storage Layouts

Precinct storage units are located in the main processing area. Standing near a locker or shelf opens a UI prompt to move items directly from your character to the storage container.

Maintain clear pathways around workstations and storage units. Dropping items on the floor or blocking lockers with misplaced furniture creates navigation obstacles for your staff. If pathways are obstructed, officers cannot reach workstations to finish the booking process, creating systemic delays during heavy shifts.

Preventing Inventory Bottlenecks

A full storage unit blocks new evidence intake, halting intake processing across the station. Conduct an inventory audit at the start of every shift using the following priority order:

Item Priority	Target Destination	Station Impact
High-Priority Evidence	Main Intake Lockers	Unlocks case progression and clears patrol bottlenecks.
General Property	Secondary Storage Racks	Prevents personal inventory overflow without cluttering cases.
Debris & Trash	Trash Receptacles	Reclaims storage unit capacity and prevents interaction bugs.

Resolving Interaction and Storage Issues

If an item cannot be placed into a storage locker or the interaction prompt fails to appear, use these fixes:

Adjust Position: Step back from the storage container, realign your camera angle, and open the radial menu again to ensure proximity is recognized.
Clear Proximity Barriers: Move any nearby furniture or floor clutter that breaks the interaction radius between your officer and the shelf.
Reset Item Physics: If an item is floating or frozen in place, leave the precinct area entirely and re-enter to reload the local physics state.