Effective Date: 10-16-95
Revision Date: 11-18-20
Review Date: 11-18-22
Reference: MPP 5-04/010.00, 5-04/010.10, 5-04-020.00, 5-09/470.00
PURPOSE OF ORDER:
The purpose of this order is to outline the responsibilities of custody personnel in establish procedures for preliminary investigations and crime scene containments, and to give a working definition of the terms “crime scene” and “crime scene containment.”
SCOPE OF ORDER:
This order applies to all personnel assigned to, and working at Pitchess Detention Center (PDC) South Facility.
ORDER:
Custody personnel responding to any incident, shall assume the responsibility for preliminary investigation.
Officer safety should shall not be compromised when determining how an incident will be handled.
The initial responding personnel shall be responsible for determining, protecting and preserving the crime scene until relieved by the proper authority such as special investigations, arson or homicide detectives. A Major Incident Log (SH-CR-620) shall be initiated and maintained until all Department personnel have left the scene and the containment is discontinued. This log can also be useful in establishing a chain-of-evidence.
Preserving a crime scene is to restrict access to anyone not having an official reason for entering the area of the crime scene.
A large crime scene can always be reduced, but evidence destroyed outside a
protected area crime scene, which was too small, can never be recovered.
Responding personnel should assess the incident/crime to ensure it is safe to enter. A safe path of approach shall be made for assisting personnel (e.g., supervisors, paramedics or medical staff, etc.) entering the crime scene or event perimeter. Person(s) injured Injured persons should be triaged accordingly. Every person entering the scene of the incident/crime shall be documented on the Major Incident Log.
It is imperative for the initial responding personnel to quickly determine if possible suspects(s) are present. If they are suspects are present, the responding personnel must coordinate the actions necessary to locate, contain, detain or arrest them. Initial responding personnel also need to quickly identify and interview witnesses related to the crime.
There is a danger that responding personnel may not identify a type of response as having a need for scene protection. For example, the scene of a homicide is an obvious crime scene which must be protected and preserved, but, the certainty for establishing crime scene management in the homicide is not found in the average response to a man-down call in a dorm or barrack. There is, however, the possibility that the man-down call could turn into a homicide investigation even if the inmate were to die of apparent natural causes. The deputy responding to any incident should always be cognizant of the “worst case scenario” and not be satisfied with what is presented as the "obvious" in any incident.
During a response, personnel could fail to identify a crime scene. For example, personnel may respond to an unconscious inmate and consider it a simple “man down” scene rather than a crime scene. There is the possibility that an apparent “man down” turns out to be a homicide even if the inmate died of seemingly natural causes later. Responding personnel shall be cognizant of the “worst case scenario” in any incident.
A preliminary investigation may involve photographs of the entire scene, a sketch of the scene and a collection of evidence. The preliminary investigation may also lead to the establishment of a secondary crime scene (homicide scene preservation).
There are several references for crime scene management and preservation: Section 5-09/470.00 of the Manual of Policy and Procedures; LASD Newsletter #80 and #94, "Crime Scene Secondary Perimeter Containment"; and Field Operations Directive 93-7, "Handling of Crime Scene Involving a Person Dead and an Unruly or Hostile Crowd."
Revision Date 11/18/20
10/16/95 SOUF