To help the justice system prevail, Fidelity ADT has released important steps to keep in mind when securing a crime scene.
At a crime scene, every bit of evidence counts so limit contact with the scene to avoid contamination.
Fidelity ADT community development manager, Linda Reeder said that in many cases the public is incidentally involved in crime by either being a witness, the owner of a property or an innocent bystander.
She said it is important to notify the closest police station and a private security company and request medical support if anyone is injured.
The next step is to secure the crime scene. “If you can cordon it off, even better and make notes – you may not be able to recall small details later,” said Reeder.
Keep the following steps in mind:
- If you are on the scene do not allow anyone to go near the area until the correct officials arrive. Nothing should be moved
- With due consideration of integrity of physical evidence, treating the injured is more important.
- Limit access to and movement on the crime scene. Secure the scene by moving bystanders to a designated area
- If the route used by the perpetrator to get to and from the scene is known, alternative access routes to the scene need to be identified for use by emergency personnel and police
- It is important to establish a temporary command centre or meeting point away from the scene
- Every person present at or in the vicinity of the scene is a potential witness but not everyone wants to be a witness
- One’s personal safety should always be one’s primary concern. In the event of a citizen’s arrest, the perpetrators must be removed from the scene and secured
- Understand how to deal with evidence. You are not allowed to take photos – the defense will rule that out. Only official photographs will be allowed.
“Forensic work is highly detailed and often it is the small details one would never pick up with the naked eye that is invaluable clues.
“These should never be tampered with and sadly many cases are thrown out of court as people do not realise they have not followed the right procedures. Every person can play an invaluable role in ensuring criminals are put behind bars.”
