5 Things to Do When a Violent Crime Happens on Your Propert
Violent crime scenes require careful professional intervention. California leads other states in the US with 1,900+ murders in 2023, followed by Texas and Florida. When you discover that a homicide took place on your property, you need to call experts for cleanup.
When blood, biohazards, and trauma evidence contaminate your condo or business place, the way forward may feel impossible at first. But you can make things easier for you (and your loved ones or employees) by calling a dedicated crime scene cleaner.
The BioClean Team has been serving Southern California clients for several years now. We have guided thousands of clients through this process with calm professionalism.
Cleaning Crime Scenes: 5 Important Steps
Violent crimes leave behind dangerous biohazards. You may see:
- Infectious bloodborne pathogens
- Tissue matter
- Chemical residues
Untrained cleanup simply spreads these contaminants all over the place. Hiring amateurs to clean up a crime scene means violating OSHA bloodborne standards and creating liability traps. You may also face hefty fines for not cleaning up the place properly.
We’ll discuss five steps that guide you through this arduous process. Let’s spill some crazy crime scene cleaner secrets here to help you understand why you need experts for this.
1. Secure the Scene Right Away
Once investigators collect the evidence they need, you must restrict access to the scene of the crime. Nobody goes in! No family members or tenants. Not even the maintenance staff.
Post “Authorized Personnel Only” sign on the door. Lock exterior doors if it’s an apartment building. Uncontrolled access will lead to the spread of Salmonella & Hepatitis B/C through footwear. But a BioClean crime scene cleaner will arrive at the location equipped with:
- Containment barriers
- Negative air machines
- Full hazmat gear
That’s why we make sure that your property is clean & hygienic enough for residence.
2. Document Everything for Your Protection
But the cleanup process doesn’t begin right away. You need to document everything to protect yourself… legally and also from your insurance providers.
- Take photographs of every affected area
- Focus on both wide shots and close-ups that capture blood spatter patterns
- Don’t miss your walls, carpets, ceilings, nooks & crannies, etc.
- Videotape a walkthrough of the room to record odors & structural damage
- Make a record of HVAC contamination
- Create an inventory of the destroyed contents of the room (like mattresses or your upholstery)
Documenting all this will protect you from lawsuits claiming uninhabitable conditions. We will give you court-admissible documentation packages for your claims process.
3. Call a Professional Crime Scene Cleaner
Next, you should contact a professional cleaner. Maid services will simply scatter these contaminants everywhere in the room. When you need to get blood out of your carpets, only a licensed professional knows how to do this properly. Crime scene cleaning jobs are not easy, as you have to:
- Verify EPA-registered disinfectants
- Ensure OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 compliance
- Attain medical waste transporter permits
- Use hospital-grade sporicides to eliminate bacterial growth
- Wear Level C PPE to do this job properly
DIT crime scene cleaning will trigger secondary contamination. Carpet steamers usually end up aerosolizing bacteria into your ductwork… something professionals can easily avoid. So, we guarantee 100% bio-matter removal.
4. Learn Your Legal Cleanup Requirements
Learn these rules: California Health & Safety Code 118285 mandates licensed remediation for blood/body fluid spills >20ml; Arizona follows identical bloodborne standards. If you do not follow these requirements, you face fines. You may also have to pay the cost of tenant relocation. That’s why reletting crime scenes isn’t possible without proper decontamination.
We at BioClean verify surgical cleanliness levels during our final walkthrough. Your HOA may demand odor elimination. Commercial spaces require fire marshal approval after a trauma incident has happened. Complete paperwork protects against wrongful death claims.
5. Plan Compassionate Property Restoration
There was a crime scene professional who made TikTok videos about how dangerous this profession is! We believe that a crime scene cleaner’s job isn’t just about dealing with all these biohazards. It’s also about having compassion for the victim. It’s about replacing a bloodstained carpet with matching existing floors. Repairing walls with neutral colors that erase memory triggers. Sanitizing the HVAC prevents the recirculation of the odor.
BioClean experts are highly trained and treat all people involved in the cleanup with dignity and respect. We take a comprehensive approach to safely and eliminate all hazardous materials properly. We deep-clean the entire area with specialized chemicals and equipment. So, contact our caring response team for restoring safety, dignity, protecting your future!
