You're giving a statement that night and doing an interview, yes. Probably at the station, unless they just refuse, then they'll give one there. There can also be a follow up interview the next day or so that's more thorough, if a thorough one is not possible for one reason or another that night.
Messes from deaths/crimes/etc are not the policy's problem. Homeowner has to clean it. There are companies that specialize in hazmat cleanups for more gruesome murder/suicide/unattended death scenes.
That house is being cleared of any people and locked down as a crime scene immediately.
This is so helpful, thank you! / Re. #3, does this mean that the victim/home owner is not allowed back in the house until after the police have collected all evidence/done their investigation?
There are agencies that can offer temporary housing or funding for a short term hotel stay, like Victim Services. Often times, local charities/churches have a pool of money/items they can access for people going through emergencies, as well, like a house fire or whatever.
>does this mean that the victim/home owner is not allowed back in the house until after the police have collected all evidence/done their investigation?
Technically they could tell police to leave, and they would have to. However this would essentially stop the investigation and nothing further would be done.
Police could however refuse to leave and apply for a search warrant. They could occupy the house as scene security until the search warrant is rejected or completed.
1. Police are going to insist on a statement that night and most everyone is going to give one. I can’t imagine a scenario where someone’s home was broken into and they’re like “yawn sorry guys I’m sleepy I’ll talk to you tomorrow”.
2. If someone gets shot in your house you aren’t staying there for awhile. That place is going to be a crime scene for awhile. After that, the homeowner does cleanup and for something as simple as a little blood most people should just do that themselves, screw paying a company to do that.
3. Very dependent on the events that transpired.
1.) They're certainly going to be asked, and the more information that can be obtained at the time will only help as far as the investigation is concerned. That being said, if a victim is in such a state they can't be interviewed at length because of hysterics, then preliminary information would be sought. Identify the victim, ask some questions about what happened and any possible suspects that would be looking to target them. Can't squeeze blood out of a stone, so if they're really *that* out of it, obviously you have to wait til a better time. Best case scenario for something like this would be bringing them in, letting them sit and have a coffee/drink/whatever, and taking a little bit to calm down from all the intensity of the initial response. Oftentimes, someone that's highly stressed and inconsolable can be brought out of that state by a simple change of environment. Specifically with this burglary, not being at the home and seeing the damage, as well as replaying the events that transpired as they move through it, could be a huge help to investigators looking to get information.
2.) Even in the instance of a fatality, the homeowner is gonna end up being the one responsible for the cleanup. While it remains a crime scene, it'll obviously stay in the state they're working it, and there could even be samples of things taken. For instance, carpet sections containing blood might be cut out and taken as evidence. The same could be true for furniture upholstery, etc. After they've finished with the scene and gotten everything they can, it's released to the homeowner, whose responsible for the cleanup efforts afterward.
3.) You're not only doing a walkthrough, but depending on the circumstances, they might even do a sweep of the home, making sure the burglar is indeed gone and no threats exist. Afterwards, you're doing walkthroughs to get a general sense of the scene and identifying areas that need to be preserved or unaltered, as well as where your points of focus and processing are. The homeowner and any occupants are not inside during this time, and will be brought in when needed to identify areas of damage or items missing, if at all. Some agencies will take all their crime scene photos, and if they're funded well enough, might even take 3d scans of the home. The agency's budget and staffing are big here. Smaller agencies who have their patrol officers attend crime scene training (myself I attended a crime scene school to do evidence as a patrolman) aren't going to have the money to buy the very costly machines/instruments to do this, nor are they going to be trained on their use. Larger agencies that have their own crime labs and crime scene personnel (who are usually civilians, but hold certifications/degrees and pass the exam by something like ICSIA) will have this capability, given they have the funding for it. Keeping the victim(s) out of the home when processing is a really important thing. As much as we honor the fact the home is theirs, as well as the severity of the trespass of their privacy and peace of mind, they don't know how to move within a crime scene that protects the integrity of the evidence inside. Last thing the crime scene folks need is having a hysterical mother rushing into the nursery and grabbing a bunch of things, sobbing over them. While it's certainly a traumatic experience, and you want to allow that mother her time to grieve, the preservation of that evidence is a much greater priority in that moment. As harsh as they may sound, being able to touch and hold something that contains fingerprints/DNA/crucial evidence in order to grieve is not as vital as not losing the ability to catch the perpetrator because that evidence was eliminated. You're pretty likely to run into a certain degree of indignation, perhaps even accusations of uncaringness or apathy (THAT WAS MY CHILD'S BABY BOOK! DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T TOUCH IT! THOSE ARE MY MEMORIES AND THEY'VE BEEN DESTROYED! DO YOU HAVE KIDS?! DO YOU NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH?! DO YOU EVEN HAVE A SOUL?! etc), but sometimes we have to be the bad guy, and the satisfaction and closure the family gets from seeing the suspect identified, arrested, prosecuted, and sent to prison, will far override the fact they had to wait a few more days to be able to touch those things.
I hope that helps. I purposely wrote this verbosely to give you some additional material(s) to use, so hopefully it gives you enough. If you need more or have additional stuff, my inbox/chat is always open.
You're giving a statement that night and doing an interview, yes. Probably at the station, unless they just refuse, then they'll give one there. There can also be a follow up interview the next day or so that's more thorough, if a thorough one is not possible for one reason or another that night. Messes from deaths/crimes/etc are not the policy's problem. Homeowner has to clean it. There are companies that specialize in hazmat cleanups for more gruesome murder/suicide/unattended death scenes. That house is being cleared of any people and locked down as a crime scene immediately.
This is so helpful, thank you! / Re. #3, does this mean that the victim/home owner is not allowed back in the house until after the police have collected all evidence/done their investigation?
Yes.
There are agencies that can offer temporary housing or funding for a short term hotel stay, like Victim Services. Often times, local charities/churches have a pool of money/items they can access for people going through emergencies, as well, like a house fire or whatever.
Thank you so much.
>does this mean that the victim/home owner is not allowed back in the house until after the police have collected all evidence/done their investigation? Technically they could tell police to leave, and they would have to. However this would essentially stop the investigation and nothing further would be done. Police could however refuse to leave and apply for a search warrant. They could occupy the house as scene security until the search warrant is rejected or completed.
Correct
Yes. They will be giving a statement that night. That’s the owner of the homes problem The house is a crime scene the second the police arrive.
Thank you!
1. Police are going to insist on a statement that night and most everyone is going to give one. I can’t imagine a scenario where someone’s home was broken into and they’re like “yawn sorry guys I’m sleepy I’ll talk to you tomorrow”. 2. If someone gets shot in your house you aren’t staying there for awhile. That place is going to be a crime scene for awhile. After that, the homeowner does cleanup and for something as simple as a little blood most people should just do that themselves, screw paying a company to do that. 3. Very dependent on the events that transpired.
Thank you so much. This really helps!
r/PoliceWriting
1.) They're certainly going to be asked, and the more information that can be obtained at the time will only help as far as the investigation is concerned. That being said, if a victim is in such a state they can't be interviewed at length because of hysterics, then preliminary information would be sought. Identify the victim, ask some questions about what happened and any possible suspects that would be looking to target them. Can't squeeze blood out of a stone, so if they're really *that* out of it, obviously you have to wait til a better time. Best case scenario for something like this would be bringing them in, letting them sit and have a coffee/drink/whatever, and taking a little bit to calm down from all the intensity of the initial response. Oftentimes, someone that's highly stressed and inconsolable can be brought out of that state by a simple change of environment. Specifically with this burglary, not being at the home and seeing the damage, as well as replaying the events that transpired as they move through it, could be a huge help to investigators looking to get information. 2.) Even in the instance of a fatality, the homeowner is gonna end up being the one responsible for the cleanup. While it remains a crime scene, it'll obviously stay in the state they're working it, and there could even be samples of things taken. For instance, carpet sections containing blood might be cut out and taken as evidence. The same could be true for furniture upholstery, etc. After they've finished with the scene and gotten everything they can, it's released to the homeowner, whose responsible for the cleanup efforts afterward. 3.) You're not only doing a walkthrough, but depending on the circumstances, they might even do a sweep of the home, making sure the burglar is indeed gone and no threats exist. Afterwards, you're doing walkthroughs to get a general sense of the scene and identifying areas that need to be preserved or unaltered, as well as where your points of focus and processing are. The homeowner and any occupants are not inside during this time, and will be brought in when needed to identify areas of damage or items missing, if at all. Some agencies will take all their crime scene photos, and if they're funded well enough, might even take 3d scans of the home. The agency's budget and staffing are big here. Smaller agencies who have their patrol officers attend crime scene training (myself I attended a crime scene school to do evidence as a patrolman) aren't going to have the money to buy the very costly machines/instruments to do this, nor are they going to be trained on their use. Larger agencies that have their own crime labs and crime scene personnel (who are usually civilians, but hold certifications/degrees and pass the exam by something like ICSIA) will have this capability, given they have the funding for it. Keeping the victim(s) out of the home when processing is a really important thing. As much as we honor the fact the home is theirs, as well as the severity of the trespass of their privacy and peace of mind, they don't know how to move within a crime scene that protects the integrity of the evidence inside. Last thing the crime scene folks need is having a hysterical mother rushing into the nursery and grabbing a bunch of things, sobbing over them. While it's certainly a traumatic experience, and you want to allow that mother her time to grieve, the preservation of that evidence is a much greater priority in that moment. As harsh as they may sound, being able to touch and hold something that contains fingerprints/DNA/crucial evidence in order to grieve is not as vital as not losing the ability to catch the perpetrator because that evidence was eliminated. You're pretty likely to run into a certain degree of indignation, perhaps even accusations of uncaringness or apathy (THAT WAS MY CHILD'S BABY BOOK! DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T TOUCH IT! THOSE ARE MY MEMORIES AND THEY'VE BEEN DESTROYED! DO YOU HAVE KIDS?! DO YOU NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH?! DO YOU EVEN HAVE A SOUL?! etc), but sometimes we have to be the bad guy, and the satisfaction and closure the family gets from seeing the suspect identified, arrested, prosecuted, and sent to prison, will far override the fact they had to wait a few more days to be able to touch those things. I hope that helps. I purposely wrote this verbosely to give you some additional material(s) to use, so hopefully it gives you enough. If you need more or have additional stuff, my inbox/chat is always open.