Crime scene cleanup

Crime Scene Cleanup is a phrase denoting a type of professional trauma cleaning. The generic terms for Crime Scene Cleanup include trauma cleaning, biohazard recovery, decontamination, and blood cleanup. The crime scene cleaners' work begins when the coroner's office or other official, government body releases the "scene" to the owner or other responsible parties. Only when the police investigation has completely terminated on the contaminated scene may the cleaning companies begin their task.

A crime scene cleanup may involve a single blood loss event following a burglary, battery, or homicide. Companies also clean suicides, unattended deaths, teargas damaged environments, and other crime and trauma scenes. Larger crime scenes involve terrorist attacks, mass murder scenes, and the cleanup of anthrax and other biochemicals. Standard operating procedures for the crime scene cleanup field include military methods for the decontamination of internal and external environments.

Popular culture plays a part in the term's usage. Television productions like Crime Scene Investigation play some part in the popularity of Crime Scene Cleanup's usage among the US population. The term Crime Scene Cleanup is most widely used in the USA. Australia, Canada, and England have added Crime Scene Cleanup to their professional cleaning terminology.

Crime Scene Cleanup is a small business activity in most cases. At times small businesses, such as carpet cleaning and water damage companies add Crime Scene Cleanup to deversify their activities. Some franchise opportunities are available through Servpro and other nation-wide franchisers.

Noted authors for the field of Crime Scene Cleanup include Kent Burg and Patrick Moffett. Kent Burg's publications include Crime Scene Cleanup, a how-to paperback. Patrick Moffett's publications are often produced as academic essays and treatises. Moffett defines Crime Scene Cleanup in The Blue Book and lists general price guidelines for cleaning crime scenes. Moffett's activities are generally related to indoor environmental inspection.

Generally recognized organizations for this field of cleaning include the American Bio-recovery Association, ABRA, and the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification, IICRC. ABRA is the largest membership organization in the USA for trauma cleaners. The IICRC is a certifying body for the cleaning trades in general.