First Police Officer at the Crime Scene

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Being first at the crime scene is probably the worst scenario any law enforcement member may imagine. One will call it a bad luck. Indeed it is a bad thing to experience. The crimes as was mentioned before vary – the number of so called – 'Jane/ John Doe' refers to perpetual notion. It has no end. However the procedure how step by step uncover the horrid crime has its beginning at the feral moment when a police officer finds a crime scene, finds a victim and immediately starts to protect and examine its vicinity thoroughly. It is a painstaking procedure, it has to be very thorough and it has to be relatively quick! The time is a measure of victory and success.



Crime scenes are dynamic, its environment changes rapidly, the examination of countless details is very, very crucial. A successful resolution of the investigation hinges on the thoroughness and actions taken by the first officer which arrived at the crime scene. Without his or her perception some very important aspects might remind unnoticed forever. The policies how to act and gather pieces of evidence are very strict. The duties of the first officer are the same regardless of his or her rank and remain the same regardless of seriousness of the crime. The most important are clues of physical evidence. Nothing present at the crime scene has to be destroyed, re-positioned, taken without photo-graphical record beforehand. Nothing has to be added, altered and taken away. It will compromise the investigation partially or in a long run all. The future of the investigation lays in a thorough procedure and responsibility of the police officers at the most. For some, though, it is not so obvious. The mistakes happens and are unforgiving.




For some crime spots it is impossible to keep it intact at all times – a busy highway, no one has a jurisdiction to hold the traffic for longer than 24 hours. Withing this amount of time, the examination has to be done and the crime scene photographed, moreover, as many physical pieces of evidence have to be gathered as possible. It is unspoken truth ' If something can go wrong, it will'.

The time plays an important role in estimation what exactly happened. It is a harbinger of success of catching the suspect within 74 hours, luckily, naturally.

What is the most important:
  1. Doors it has to be established whether it was open, closed or not.
  2. Windows whether it was opened, closed, locked.
  3. Lights – on/off if on – which and how many?
  4. Shades, shutters or blinds – opened/closed.
  5. Odors it means and fregnance from a cigatette smoke, gas, gun powder, perfume and many others ... .
  6. Signs of activity which includes meal preparation, dishes in the sink, house – clean or dirty and many others ... .
  7. Date and time indicators - chacking mails, newspapers and its dates, food and other products and its expiry dates, clocks, out of date food, temperature of the drinks – hot or cold, and the impact of the room temperature on it all.

While a crime scene is examined a room, a house – both remain closed as long as necessary, the exact position of the object and bodies (if present) is photographed, if necessary outlined in chalk, sketched, videotaped, as many means as possible have to be used to catch the precise point of the event, an angle may very, diversification helps to have a proper insight of what truly happened in and out of the premises. As was mentioned nothing should be moved or touched unless it is absolutely necessary.

Rescuing lives is always a priority at the crime scene, the paramedics are called on instant, notwithstanding the surrounding evidence, the life is utmost important. While the victims are taken to the hospital, the police officers arrange a proper removal and custody of victim's clothing. The dead person at the crime scene is examined by determining the following factors – clear rigor mortis, odor, lividity, decomposition signs, once it is done, the body is transported to local mortuary for further examination which helps to establish more detailed causes of death. Until the coroner comes the body stays in its initial position, the one it was found, namely, lividity may change position and appearance, thus trickles of blood may change direction. The blood marks and its direction must be photographed inch by inch before the body is removed, in some cases blood runs while the body is being removed, those extra marks are not taken into account later on as an irrelevant secondary blood flow.



The gun and ammunition at the crime scene are not touch until the special units arrives and examines it thoroughly. It is worth remembering – the fingerprints will not be present on the grips, this part is not deposited on the fingerprints. Before the gun is recovered its position should be marked by chalk and photographed, the marking is important to establish whether is was purposefully put on the floor, or it fell from the victim's hand of a suicide. It also helps to establish the trajectory of the bullet and the impact it had done. Underneath it all the weapon and rounds are examined in the crime laboratory.



The crime scene and the overall procedure how to deal with it is a first part of the ongoing investigation, the second one is interviewing the suspects, witnesses. Checking the background and surroundings. It is important to write down names of witnesses, other persons who entered the crime scene, note who was at the crime scene when the officer arrived, establish the basic facts, keep a suspect and the witness apart, separated at all times. The witness must be instructed not to discuss the events, do not discuss the crime at all with anyone around. To listen attentively but unobtrusively, protect the pieces of evidence which might be in danger or even purposefully destroyed.

While bearing in mind all the factors and procedures. There is a great chance of finding a suspect. The police main aim is prevention, investigation of crimes and offences, upholding a legal order and supply assistance to civil authority.


Bibliography:
  1. Criminal Investigations – Crime Scene Investigation. 2000
  2. Forensic Science. 2006
  3. Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation. 2012.
    Acknowledgments
  4. https://www.politie.nl/mijn-buurt/politiebureaus/05/burgwallen.html and a Chief Inspector – Mr. Erik Akerboom                                           ©

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