It has been noted that victims of crime have, in some form, unintentionally tampered with a crime scene.
Linden Police Station is urging the community to not do so as this hinders the investigation.
Captain Alex Vermaak explained that as every crime scene is unique, each one requires different actions be taken.
“At the majority of crime scenes, the police will look for forensic evidence that places someone at the scene so the suspect can be found guilty in court.”
He said the investigation is to ensure all information is gathered from the scene so that when they do find a suspect they can prove to the court that the suspect was there and would have to explain why.
“Forensic evidence after a crime is crucial to the police,” said Vermaak. He added that because the forensic team is specialised, they are not based at the police station but come from a different unit.
He said the best thing is to not touch anything and wait until officials arrive. Once they collected all the evidence such as taken photographs, prints, etc can a victim go about their routines.
“It is very important for us to make people aware that the forensic evidence on the scene is crucial for us to find a suspect and to make a connection.”
Vermaak explained that there had been a number of incidents where victims of crime unwittingly tampered with the scene.
This could be cleaning up broken glass or tidying up, which have become more frequent and is frustrating for the police.
He believes people do this because they are in a rush to remove all traces of the incident that had occurred.
“But what they don’t realise is that they are actually doing more harm than good.”
Vermaak concluded that it would be some time for all the information taken by forensics tests to come together.
“Serious attacks, like a house robbery where the person was tied up in their home will take precedence over someone who has faced a housebreaking.”
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