Chain of Custody is a BIG Deal

Keep an ironclad eye on your business records with this important process.

After 20 years, the O.J. Simpson murder trial is back in the news, thanks to the compelling FX American Crime Story miniseries and the ESPN documentary, “O.J.”. One key learning: The defense successfully used tainted evidence from the crime scene to cast doubt on Simpson’s guilt.

We all know how that turned out.

Follow the Chain of Custody

You don’t have to be at the center of a notorious murder case to care about how your most sensitive data are handled. Chain of custody for records management—basically a record of who exactly has handled or stored your business records and where—is an essential piece of secure record storage.

Do you know who is managing your records, where they’re stored, and who has access to them? Can you generate a report that chronicles each document’s history?

Here’s how it works. When a paper document is in your possession, it’s in your custody.

The chain of custody keeps tabs of every document over its entire lifecycle. In short, it’s a log that tracks every file’s whereabouts, including:

• Name of person handling document
• How many times it has been handled
• When the document was requested
• Name of records storage employee who assisted
• Description of document accessed

This is obviously crucial for some key industries like law, financials, medical and healthcare, and, of course, criminal investigations.

No surprise: The people responsible for legal documents, DMV records, social security numbers, private personal health records, or crime scene evidence, absolutely need a secure chain of custody.

But all industries can gain advantages as well.

Why Use Chain of Custody Right Now? One word: Security

Regular businesses can also protect themselves with this service, and here’s how. With chain of custody—a service that Corodata customers receive—you’ll know:

• Where your records are stored and how to quickly retrieve them
• Exactly whose requested files
• Solid documentation in the event of an audit

Is Your Records Storage Company Bulletproofed?

Make sure your record storage company can guarantee the following:

Restricted access.

Your files should be in a secured storage facility along with a list of authorized users.

Box and file tracking.

A tracking system that makes a database entry every time a records box or file is moved.

Background-Checked

Each employee should undergo stringent background and drug tests; all personnel are uniformed and badged at all times, and trained weekly.

Strict chain of custody policy

At no point should an employee come in contact with the documents.

Reporting.

A system that allows you to easily pull the history of who has accessed a document box or file.

In Short: It’s Handled.

With chain of custody, you’ll have a solid third party audit trail that will back you up during inquiries from the IRS, courts or other regulator.