August Highlight: Hermantown Police Department

Evidence Technician, Dana Ross

1). Full Name, Department you work for, How long at Department, Number of officers, official title.

Dana Ross, Hermantown Police Department, 7 years, 17 officers, Evidence Technician.

2). Who is in the evidence department with you?

I am the sole Evidence Technician here and Commander Jon Esterbrooks is the Investigative Commander who oversees my position.

3). What is your involvement with MAPET?

I am the Membership Coordinator who primarily works with membership certifications. It has been really exciting for me to be a part of this organization and I am so excited to see where it goes!

4). What are some of your favorite Evidence Technician/Property Room Manager tasks?

I really enjoy our department’s new barcoding system! We recently had a large purge in 2021 as we transitioned from a paper system to electronic this February, so it has been an amazingly smooth transition!

5). What is the most unique/weird item currently in your Property room?

I currently have a McDonalds cheeseburger in my freezer that has been there for way too long. I believe it was related to a suspicious death so not sure how long I need to keep it….  

6). What is currently your biggest challenge?

Because of the switch from our paper system to electronic I have a lot of old property reports to scan in and it will take me forever! Our department was founded in the 1970s so it’s a lot of paperwork to go through.

7). Recent victory in your property room?

I would say the 2021 purge was a tremendous victory for us at HPD and that has given me SO much more space to play with. Getting the officers used to working with our new system has also been really great for our whole department. I am the first Evidence Technician my department has had (prior it was always the Deputy Chief’s responsibility) so it has been a lot of firsts here for my Commander and I to navigate! I am very proud of where we are currently at today.  

8). What advice would you give to new techs in the field?

Be prepared for change and don’t be discouraged. It takes a lot of time to learn the job and patience is key! Don’t be afraid to ask questions to surrounding technicians as well. They have been a HUGE help in making me more comfortable and knowledgeable in my role.