FBI evidence often mishandled, inquiry finds

“A majority of the errors identified were due in large part to human error, attributable to a lack of training and program management oversight,” auditors wrote in the report, which was obtained by The New York Times.

In a written statement, the bureau said the review had “yielded several valuable proposals to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the F.B.I.’s corporate tracking system for evidence, and the F.B.I. is currently in the process of implementing same.”

The F.B.I. is separately dealing with the fallout from a case at its Washington office, where an agent is under investigation for tampering with evidence. That has led to the dismissal of convictions in some drug cases. Though the internal review is unrelated to that matter, the issues are so entwined that the F.B.I. plans to distribute the report to dozens of lawyers involved whose cases were affected by the Washington investigation, officials said.