Securing the scene

Securing the scene…

Securing the scene is a very important step that needs to be carried out within each investigation. This step ensures that the appropriate and accurate people are within the scene restricting any unauthorised individuals from the scene. These individuals could consist of media, the general public, Family members of the victim (if one), possible suspects manipulating or destroying evidence or people aiding the offender by removing evidence or destroying it. Upon arrival of the FAO their responsibility is to “cordon off” the scene by placing police tape around the area in which the crime occurred. This secures any evidence within the scene from being tampered with or destroyed. If the scene is located outdoors there may be a tent placed around crucial evidence and or a victim if one is present. This also restricts the general public’s / Medias view from the crime scene. Upon the point of entry there will be an officer allocated ensuring that all personnel within the crime scene should be there and restricting any access to other unauthorized personnel. 

Securing the scene within the OJ Simpson case…

The first attending officer within the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson was Robert Riske. One of his roles within the investigation was to secure the scene. However the backup officers where the one to cordon off the scene, the procedure was carried out by Sergeant Martin Coon and Officers Edward McGowan and Richard Walker. This procedure was carried out however the police tape started at the initial point of entry to Nicole’s property this meant that key pieces of evidence may have been lost of contaminated by the general public or media. For example tyre marks would have been lost. Any evidence outside the police tape could not have been used within the courts as it could have possibly been contaminated or damaged by the general public, officers and the media.

Due to the amount of attention this investigation got the officers should have placed a tent around both bodies in order to prevent the images being released into the media. The image above shows how police can use these tents along with screens in order to prevent any graphic images being released by the general public or media. These images are very graphic and subsequently could have damaged the defence or prosecution’s case.