The Crime Scene Timeline: An insight into South Africa’s First Responders

From petty theft to murder, crime scenes come in many forms, but by definition it is the location where a crime was committed or where physical evidence of the crime can be found. If you’ve ever been the victim of a crime or have witnessed a crime scene you will know that, depending on the severity of the offence, a crime scene attracts a crowd of officials who fulfill a number of roles. Who are these officials and how do they help you?

1. Behind the scene – Community Policing Forums, Neighbourhood Watches and Patrollers

As we always say – prevention is key – and it begins with your local Community Policing Forum (CPF). A CPF is a platform where community members, organisations, police and other relevant stakeholders such as representatives from local security providers and neighbourhood watches meet on a regular basis to discuss regional crime statistics, trends and prevention initiatives. The CPF’s function is to promote the accountability of local police to the community, promote cooperation of your community with the local police, and evaluate the provision of services. The aim of these forums are to achieve more effective crime control, reduce fears of crime and improve the partnership between police and community with the goal to solve safety problems.
Out of the meeting rooms into the streets, armed with information and always on the look-out for suspicious activity, vigilant neighbourhood watch volunteers, street patrollers and 24/7 on-duty armed response officers create a community policing visibility, sending a strong message that crime won’t be tolerated. These everyday and often unsung heroes, along with our specialist tactical force tackle crime head-on, working to proactively fight crime and create safer communities.

2. At the scene of the crime – First Responders (and their various roles and responsibilities)

The first person on the scene of a crime, referred to as your “first responder”, takes on the role and responsibility of securing and preserving the scene. Your first responder could be an armed response officer, a member of SAPS, or even a member of the local neighbourhood watch. As the first on scene, their roles could include:
A. Identifying what crime has taken place – is there a suspect still on site? Is there a victim and do they need medical assistance? If so the relevant services and authorities are contacted.
B. Demarcating and securing the area to preserve the scene and minimize the contamination of evidence.
C. Documenting all evidence and compiling a report of key observations such as the crime committed, response times, the point of entry and arrests made.
SAPS & Forensics
When called out to the scene of a possible murder, if the first member on scene is a police officer it is their responsibility to assess whether the victim is alive and to preserve life. If the victim is deceased, the officer secures the scene of the crime, preventing unauthorised access. When the forensic department’s crime scene manager (CSM) arrives they relieve the first member, take control of the scene and assign crime scene technicians and an investigating officer (IO). 
The assigned CSM, technicians and IO take a “first walk” through the scene of the crime to take notes of possibles routes and evidence, all of which is photographed, taking care not to disturb the scene. The CSM is responsible for deciding which experts are needed and the order in which the scene should be investigated. Crime scene technicians will examine the scene meticulously and if one is unavailable, which is often the case given South Africa’s high crime rate, then this role falls to the investigating officer. Once again, careful notes are compiled into a report of all their observations and the date, time and place of evidence collected. All evidence collected is sent to the forensic science laboratory for analysis.
What is collected as evidence?
• Trace evidence: gunshot residue, paint residue, broken glass, unknown chemicals
• Bodily fluids: blood, semen, saliva, vomit
• Impressions: fingerprints, footprints, tool marks
• Weapons and firearms: knives, guns, bullet holes, cartridge casings
• Documents and devices: diaries, suicide notes, computers, cellphones, memory sticks
• Hair and fibres
Further, depending on the nature of the emergency, our control centre has access to and can arrange for a number of additional services to be summoned to a scene, including:
• Medical Emergency Response,
• Towing services and even,
• Snake Catching Experts.

3. The aftermath: Crime Scene Clean Up & Trauma Counselling

Once the investigation is completed, evidence collected and reports compiled the crime scene may require cleaning, especially in the case of a murder.  Our response officers can assist victims by contacting control centre to organise a crime scene clean up crew, through our trusted external service provider.
Falling victim to crime can be a traumatising experience and counselling can help victims come to terms with the feelings they experience during or after an event. Our response officer’s can once again assist victims by putting them in contact with a reputable trauma counselor.