Crucial evidence was recently lost by the Fiji Police Force after it was damaged by water, rats and cockroaches.

Speaking at the Fiji Police Force Command Group Retreat, Christopher Pryde, revealed the exhibits were removed, without authorization, from a safe secure place where they were being stored and were placed in an insecure place where they were damaged.

He says not only was crucial evidence being lost to nature but the officer that moved them provided no record of having moved them.

Pryde told those present that too often police officers do not record statements from the person who has seized the item from the suspect or from the person who has received the item for storage.

He says this gives the defence an opportunity to argue that a third party has interfered, that the item is not the item found at the scene or that someone has tampered with the item.

He goes on to add that if the chain of custody is not protected, a case may fail.