Incident Scene Management Procedure

Purpose. This procedure sets the actions the first member on scene and subsequent members must take to protect life, preserve evidence and manage an incident scene until it is handed over or released.

1.Arrival and dynamic risk assessment

The first member on scene must stop at a safe distance, assess hazards including offenders, traffic, fire, chemicals and structural danger, and report a situation report by radio. Members must not enter an unsafe scene without appropriate resources. The priority order is the preservation of life, the safety of members and the public, the arrest of offenders and the preservation of evidence.

2.Preservation of life

Members must render first aid within their training and call an ambulance where any person is injured. Body worn cameras must be active. Members must keep a record of everyone who enters the scene, including paramedics, and what they touched or moved.

3.Establishing the scene

The scene must be cordoned with tape or vehicles to include the widest area that could hold evidence, and a single entry point must be established. A scene log must be started that records every person entering and leaving with the time and reason. The member in charge of the scene must be identified by radio and in the incident record.

• Cordon wide, then reduce
• One entry and exit point
• Scene log from the first minute
• Photograph before anything is moved

4.Evidence

Members must not touch, move or collect evidence unless it is at risk of being lost or destroyed. Where an item must be moved, its original position must be photographed and noted. Items collected must be handled under the Exhibit Handling and Continuity Procedure and entered in the Property and Exhibits Register.

5.Witnesses and persons of interest

Witnesses must be identified, separated where practicable, and their details and a brief first account recorded. Persons of interest must be dealt with under the Operational Safety and Use of Force Policy. Members must not discuss the incident with the media or the public at the scene.

6.Handover and release

The scene must be handed over to investigators or specialist units with a verbal briefing and the scene log. The scene will only be released on the authority of the member in charge after all evidence has been collected and photographs taken. The incident record must be completed in the Incident Log before the end of shift and must include the scene log.