Crime scene clean-up services are performed by specialists with highly qualified teams that have all the appropriate PPE, equipment, cleaning solutions, and resources to provide comprehensive, sanitised cleaning after an accident, emergency, or critical event.
Understanding when, how, and under what circumstances to contact a qualified crime scene clean-up team can be complex, whether you have experienced a break-in or violent crime on your business premises, have been attacked as a victim of crime, or need to address criminal damage to your property.
In this article, we’ll run through all of the information you may require, ensuring you can approach the cleaning necessary to return a site, premises, compound, home or other location to clean, safe and habitable usage, irrespective of the nature or severity of the crime that has occurred.
Key Takeaways:
- Crime scene clean-up is best provided by qualified, accredited, certified professionals with the necessary knowledge, skills, and equipment to sanitise and clean up after any crime, including vehicular collisions, break-ins, assaults, arson, and other incidents.
- It is paramount that any non-qualified individual never attempts to clean a crime scene, particularly where biohazardous substances could seriously risk their health or where specialist cleaning equipment is necessary.
- Most crime scenes cannot be cleaned until the relevant emergency services release the site, meaning it may take several days for forensic analysis work and evidence collation to be completed.
What Do Crime Scene Clean-up Services Involve?
Any crime scene can be packed with hazards, risks, and dangers, from bodily fluids to sharp objects. It is crucial that any site owner who has become a victim of a crime or witnessed a crime on their property depends on the professionals to manage the cleaning processes.
To protect against exposure to sharps, bacteria, pathogens and viruses, crime scene clean-up teams use specialised resources, equipment, and protective clothing to eliminate risk and ensure a property is safe to return to. These may include:
- Respiratory equipment and biohazard suits with gloves and protective footwear.
- Commercial disinfectants with chemical testing protocols used to verify each surface has been sanitised before sign-off.
- Specialist tools to scan for biohazards or residues that may be invisible to the naked eye.
- Facilities to deal with safely removing and disposing of sharp objects, including broken glass, blades and needles.
Crime scene clean-up teams are highly trained in preventing exposure to chemicals and pathogens. They work strategically, establishing zones to separate each area and ensuring the site is not certified as safe until it has been thoroughly cleaned and assessed.
The disposal of crime scene materials is also key. Professional teams use compliant biohazardous containers to eliminate any chance of cross-contamination.
Is Hiring a Crime Scene Clean-Up Team Mandatory?
A common misconception is that emergency services are responsible for cleaning following an incident—whether an ambulance crew responding to a medical emergency, a police force reacting following a crime or assault, or the fire service responding to an arson attack.
This assumption is incorrect.
While the right approach to the cleaning process may depend on the nature of the incident and premises, the property or business owner must ensure the site is safe and habitable and can return to normal usage.
It is also worth pointing out that a crime scene can be a distressing and frightening place and attempting to clean the area is never a task that is taken lightly. Professional cleaning crews act sensitively and respectfully, particularly when a serious incident has occurred.
During a cleaning project, the first step is usually to remove debris, weapons, and hazardous objects and ensure that clinical waste, including sharps, has been responsibly disposed of.
From there, the crew will use professional cleaning solutions and disinfectants to remove all bodily fluids, waste, and biohazards, ensuring no potential pathogens remain.
As the property owner, you may be asked to confirm that you have the authority to allow the crime scene clean-up team to begin work. You also need to verify that the emergency responders have cleared the site for cleaning and permit access to the clean-up crew.
Ensuring Compliance With Health and Safety Legislation Following a Crime
Importantly, crime scene clean-up teams have a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of the applicable regulations following a crime. We can provide guidance to ensure your site or business has complied with all requirements, identifying and removing all potential dangers.
Without a comprehensive cleaning process, it may be impossible to reopen a business or allow colleagues to return to work, especially where a crime has involved violence or a fatality. This can mean viruses and pathogens remain on surfaces for several days and pose a serious risk to health.
Alongside the practicalities of cleaning, crime scene sanitisation crews follow strict and defined protocols and policies, creating detailed risk assessments and documenting the cleaning performed, the nature and disposal of hazardous objects and biohazards, and providing support for staff attending a distressing scene.
Industrial chemicals and disinfectants are commonly used, with a thorough plan that shows all of the cleaning resources used during the clean-up – this documentation may be essential to preventing future liability and proving that you have taken appropriate action before returning the site to normal use.
Learn More About the Requirements for a Crime Scene Clean-up Service
It can be emotional, stressful and upsetting to have to deal with a crime scene, where the aftermath of a suicide, fatality, serious incident, robbery, assault or vehicular collision can be extremely difficult to witness.
Working with a skilled, experienced crime scene clean-up service ensures you have fulfilled your obligations as a business manager or site owner and have the records to evidence the steps taken to remove all hazards and sharp objects from the site.
Crime scenes can be dangerous places, and regardless of the type of crime that has occurred, it is advisable to prevent any access by any individual until a crime scene clean-up team has assessed the site and created a detailed sanitisation plan.
For further information about arranging professional crime scene cleaning following a crime, please contact Clearway’s knowledgeable team. We’ll be happy to advise and offer complete discretion throughout.
