Which action is NOT part of evidence preservation?

• A. Maintaining continuity of evidence
• B. Deleting logs to protect privacy
• C. Preserving chain of custody
• D. Securing physical and digital evidence

Answer: (B)

Preserving evidence means keeping it intact, traceable, and protected from tampering from collection to disposition. Maintaining continuity of evidence is about documenting every change of possession and the condition of the item so nothing is lost or altered without record. Preserving chain of custody provides a documented history of who handled the evidence, when, and why, which is crucial for its admissibility. Securing physical and digital evidence involves proper storage, access controls, and measures to prevent tampering or loss.

Deleting logs to protect privacy runs opposite to preservation. Logs create the audit trail that shows how the evidence was handled and accessed; removing them undermines integrity, accountability, and the ability to validate the evidence in a legal or investigative context. This action is not part of preserving evidence.