Homicide, assault and trauma scenes
Crime scene cleanup in Manchester
When police finish at a home, they leave. What they leave behind is not the family's job. An independent cleanup company can take it from here, with the right protection and disposal.
Before anyone cleans
The scene belongs to the police for now
Officers decide when the home is released. Until then, don't wash, move or throw anything away. In Manchester, the police non-emergency number is (603) 668-8711 if you need to ask whether it is released yet.
Write down the report number
Insurers and the state compensation program both ask for it.
Take photos if you can bear to
Pictures of the rooms before work starts help with insurance. If you can't, the cleanup company can usually take them.
Call when you are ready
Call (603) 555-0105. You describe what happened and where; the company explains how it would handle it.
What the work usually covers
Removing blood and other fluids from floors, walls and furniture, and taking out materials that can't be cleaned, such as soaked carpet, pad, mattresses or drywall.
Bagging and sealing waste for disposal as medical waste, then cleaning and disinfecting what stays. A good company tells you before it removes anything you might want to keep.
Odor work if needed, and a walk-through with you or someone you choose when it is done.
Paying for it
Homeowner and renter policies sometimes cover this kind of cleanup, depending on the policy. Call your insurer, ask whether it is covered, and ask what photos and paperwork they want.
New Hampshire's Victims' Compensation Program helps crime victims and their immediate family with costs such as funerals after a homicide, counseling and new locks. Its published list does not name crime scene cleanup, and it pays only what insurance and other sources do not. Ask the program before you count on it.
The who pays guide goes through each option.
Questions
Do the police clean up after a crime?
No. Police and the medical examiner collect evidence and then release the scene. Cleanup is left to the property owner, who can hire a company to do it.
Can I clean it myself?
It is legal, but blood can carry diseases and soaks deeper than it looks. Workers who do this wear suits, gloves and respirators for a reason. Most families choose not to.
If it happened today
- Call 911 first. If someone is hurt, or you have found someone who has died, call 911 before anything else.
- Leave the room as it is. Police and the medical examiner's investigator may need to see it. Close the door and keep people and pets out.
- Wait for the release. Cleanup starts only after the police, and the medical examiner if involved, say the home or car is released.
- Then call. Call (603) 555-0105 when you are ready. Nobody will rush you.
When you are ready, call
An independent cleanup company that works in the Manchester area. You decide whether to hire them.