Crime scene cleanup is a career that focuses on the safe cleanup of crime scenes, such as violent crime scenes, body disposal, drug manufacturing, terrorist acts, chemical or biological contamination, and so on. Members of this profession receive specialized training in order to safely handle hazardous substances, and in exchange for their knowledge, they can earn very high salaries, particularly in urban areas where crime scene cleanup services are in high demand. Because crime scene cleaners work in hot, confining biohazard suits for long periods of time, they need a strong stomach and a high level of physical fitness.
When a crime occurs, the scene is typically examined by forensic investigators before being released, leaving the cleanup to the victim’s family or the owner of the property where the crime occurred. Cleaning up a crime scene isn’t just a chore. It’s also potentially hazardous. For example, a meth lab may be heavily contaminated with hazardous chemicals, whereas the scene of a violent murder may contain a number of biological hazards such as blood and brain matter that must be safely handled.
Cleaning and restoring the scene of a crime is a job for crime scene cleaners. Their abilities include hazardous waste disposal as well as construction, as it is frequently necessary to remove walls, carpeting, and other components of a room in order to clean it properly. Furthermore, they may have received training in handling human remains, as crime scene cleanup may entail retrieving what the coroner has left behind.
Apart from dealing with crimes, crime scene cleanup can also include cleaning out so-called “trash houses” that have been filled with garbage by tenants, as well as containing suspected contamination sites, such as homes with disease-carrying rodents. Personal protective equipment, biohazard containers, and heavy solvents designed to clean a variety of surfaces are all used by these professionals to get the job done.
Cleaners may also provide psychological assistance to the families of violent crime victims. When someone dies in their home, for example, crime scene cleaners work quickly to clean the scene, preserving as many belongings as possible while discreetly disposing of contaminated items.
Workers in this field must be willing to work long and irregular shifts because a crime scene cleanup company can be called to a crime scene at any time of day or night. Because many substances present at crime scenes tend to penetrate, stain, and linger, the sooner cleaners arrive at the scene, the easier their job will be.