Spoliation refers to the failure to preserve relevant evidence. In some jurisdictions, it can serve as an independent basis for a lawsuit, but most commonly it results in a jury being instructed to make an adverse inference against the spoliator regarding the contents of the evidence. Courts require only negligence in some places, so spilling your coffee on an important paper file may end up costing your department thousands of dollars. Spoliation is best avoided by creating complete records of your training events, ensuring compliance with jurisdictional document retention policies, and securely maintaining the records in a way that prevents unauthorized tampering or destruction.
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