• Question: when you have to go to crime scenes do you get nervous?

    Asked by 10mjkod to Anna, Craig, Richard, Sue on 24 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Richard Case

      Richard Case answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      Hi 10mjkod,

      There are lots of reasons to get nervous when going to crime scenes:

      *If its an arson where a building has been on fire… the building could be in a dangerous condition.
      *If its a drugs case, then there could be needles or other things that can hurt you there.
      *If there is a lot of blood, then there could be the risk of disease
      *Its often said that the criminals return to the scene, so you could be being watched
      *Sometimes the victims don’t like the police, so they could be rude
      *dead bodies can sometimes be horrible or smelly

      This all sounds really bad… but the police are very strict when it comes to health and safety… I should know, as I was also a health and safety adviser in the Greater Manchester Police Forensics Branch… so they carry out something called risk assessments on all the jobs, and make sure that everyone is as safe as possible.

    • Photo: Anna Williams

      Anna Williams answered on 24 Jun 2011:

      Hi 10mjkod,
      Yes, I get nervous when I go to a crime scene or disaster site. I am nervous about the things that I am going to see – I might see lots of victims of a plane crash that are horribly damaged, or I might see children’s or babies’ bodies – none of which are particularly pleasant. I might see lots of blood or a very decomposed body, and sometimes I get nervous that I might be sick or faint, which wouldn’t look very professional! Mostly I am nervous about my performance – will I be able to do a good job, and be able to give the police/investigators the information they need? Will I be able to tell them anything useful, to make sure that their faith in me is justified? Those are the main things that make me nervous, but it tends to get easier with time and experience. Probably by the time I retire, I won’t get nervous at all! 🙂

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