Posted Monday, April 23, 2012 --- 7:30 a.m.

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) -- Evidence in criminal cases continues to pile up in law enforcement storage rooms because of changes in how long the items must be kept.

The Fond du Lac Police Department has more than 50,000 pieces of evidence packed into three rooms and a caged area. Electronics, guns, swords, drugs and refrigerators with blood and DNA are among items mounting at the police station.

Police say a state law enacted in 2005 requires law enforcement to hold onto evidence until the convicts are out of prison and off probation. Then a letter from the defense attorney is needed to destroy the evidence.

The Fond du Lac Reporter (http://fondul.ac/IL811J ) says the state law was passed to reduce wrongful convictions.

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Information from: The Reporter, http://www.fdlreporter.com

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.