Fire Investigation

I want to ensure that we are all on the same page here. Let me break it down James Brown style.

Places, People, Names and other specific information is deliberately made anonymous here to protect those very things. Some details are altered slightly to ensure that my anonymity and others' remains in place. This blog's purpose is to share my experiences and training for those who are interested. I will not use this blog as a platform for abuse of the Establishment or to reveal details of incidents that have occurred where I work.


Righty oh. We've cleared that up, so lets talk business.


I was lucky enough recently to undergo some further training. I spent a day at a Fire Training Centre. The aim of the day was to put into practise the theory we had learnt on the days before our practical. There were nine of us on the course. It was a scorching hot day and we travelled about an hour or so, behind a tractor, to the centre.

We were split into two groups, one of four and one of five. I was with the group of five.

I had only met one of the other CSIs previously. The centre was a fair size. It was home to the administration headquarters for the local fire service. There was a distinct smell of charred metal containers.

As we rounded the corner, there were ten or so firefighters stood in a semi circle, there appeared to be an instructor in the centre who was talking to them.

We were invited to watch the demonstration of a back draft.

In simple terms, this is a situation that can occur when a fire is starved of oxygen but the gases and fuel within the fire remain at a very high temperature. When oxygen is reintroduced, say by the opening of a door or smashing of a window, then combustion will restart. This normally occurs with an explosive effect, flames and smoke can often be seen to exit the room or house through the door or window, rapidly.

See this Youtube video for a visual demonstration

We watched the demonstration and we all stank of smoke.

We split off into our groups and were given our scenarios.

There had been a report that some masked offenders had stolen a car, a Volvo estate, colour green. They had used it as a getaway vehicle after an armed robbery at a local premises. The vehicle was then reported to be alight and the fire service have attended and extinguished the fire.

I was in a group with four CSI Girls, lucky me.

The car had been placed by a fork lift truck in a small area for us to work on it.

We found out afterwards that a small amount of white spirits had been used to accelerate the fire on the front seat. Items were placed in the vehicle so that we could recover them and observe how they were preserved.

It was my task to take the photographs of the vehicle and any exhibits we found during the excavation. I love photography, I have a real passion it for it. I was pleased that I had this opportunity.

We learnt during the theory input that burnt cars present a very real health and safety risk. Some forces have decided that CSIs will not examine vehicles due to the risk involved. The mix of plastics, metals and other components provide a risky cocktail for the examiner. Fluoroelastomers being one of the main risks which produce hydrofluoric acid when subjected to fire.

I have however read a report that suggests the risk from Fluoroelastomers and the subsequent hydrogen fluoride gas (which condenses to hydrofluoric acid) is minimal in motor vehicles.


We all suited up in Tyvek white suits. It was a scorching hot day. I wore normal rubber gloves to keep my hands and ultimately my camera clean. The CSI Girls wore thicker protective gloves.


I took photographs of the vehicle from each corner, using a 18-35mm lens. Photographs are taken to ensure that a true and accurate record is made of the vehicle before we disturb the scene.


Once I photographed each corner, ensuring that the registration was captured in each, I took a photograph from an elevated position to capture the roof. The roof had suffered a lot of fire damage, the sun roof had acted as a chimney and the glass had all but gone.

I then photographed in each door starting at the driver's door (front offside) and worked my way around. Photographing into a car can be problematic with the flashgun on the hotshoe as the flash usually casts shadows into the vehicle where the light catches the door frame. I took the flashgun off the hotshoe and used a cable. I could then position the flashgun in a suitable place to illuminate the interior sufficiently.


I took my gloves off, they were dripping with sweat. I could feel that my legs were wet with sweat also. Not cool. I made sure I drank lots of water. I hate drinking water, it's such a boring drink!

There was a distinct smell of charred items. The car's insides were black. This was a result of the interior burning and the deposition of soot from the fire and smoke.

Most of the windows were broken. We learnt how to tell if the window was broken before or during the fire. When firefighters extinguish a fire, water from their hoses cause the glass to cool rapidly and this can cause the glass to break, this is known as thermal shock. The glass looks like bubble wrap. When it breaks, the edges are smoother than a normal broken window.

Once the photos were taken of the vehicle as we found it, we began to excavate the debris. We used an assortment of tools. Most of the evidence was likely to be under the first layer of debris, as this top layer is likely to be bits that have fallen during the fire, parts of the roof, glass and fabric etc.


All of the material that was taken from the vehicle was transferred into a large bucket. This needed to be double checked, we had to ensure there were no items of evidential value within the debris. The debris was sieved into another bucket and a magnetic wand was also used to detect any items of importance.


Each of the CSI girls took a door each and began hacking away. With care, of course.


There were a number of items in the vehicle in various places and the practical assessment was aimed at us recovering all of the items.


On the back bench seat was a DVD player. The outer casing had melted and it was black. I turned it over and the underside was as it was when new. I was surprised. I could see the serial number and the model numbers on a sticker. I photographed the sticker using my macro lens.


I love my macro lens.


The front seats were reduced to the frames. You could see the springs where the cushions would normally be. The back seat was charred but generally had remained intact.


I swapped with one CSI Girl and started excavating the driver's seat and foot well.


I was convinced that we were going to find a firearm within the vehicle and looked everywhere.

When I was digging the debris from under the seat, I found a set of Volvo keys. The leather fob was in pristine condition. This was surprising as everything around it was burnt to a crisp. The way in which the bunch of keys were placed, protected the fob. It was covered in a dark yellow sticky substance, a product of the burnt interior I expect.


I soldiered on and used a very large knife to cut the carpet from the vehicle. The rubber floor mat had protected the floor very well. When I cut the carpet, I found what appeared to be a shotgun cartridge. It was surrounded by melted debris. I couldn't separate it from the debris but could very clearly see the bottom. I used my macro lens to photograph the base. The firing pin mark was clearly visible.


We worked on the vehicle for just over an hour and a half. We managed to recover cigarette ends (fully preserved!) keys, a bottle of accelerant, a DVD player, a Coke can, a spoon and a magazine which had preserved a CD within it.

We didn't find a firearm.

The car was in a bad way when we got hold of it and to say it was any better when we finished would be a lie. It was cleaner though. All of the debris had been stripped right out. Wind the clock back a few thousand miles and give it a polish and it'd be on the second hand car dealership forecourt in minutes for £975 with a free tank of petrol.


My force policy is not to examine vehicles that have been burnt out unless they are involved in a serious or major crime. I understand the reasoning behind it. I did however, enjoy ripping that poor little Volvo to pieces and collecting evidence.

It must be a guy thing, breaking and destroying things. I loved it.

If fingerprints were a requirement of the interior, then there is also a chemical treatment that allows soot to be removed from surfaces to allow for fingerprinting. Some of the items we recovered may have been subject to this once they reached the lab.

We had to package an item each, which had been recovered from the vehicle. The general rule is to package anything from a fire scene into nylon bags as any accelerant or fluid will not seep through the nylon as they would in a normal plastic bag. There is a method of securing the opening of the bag, known as a swan neck, which prevents leakage also.

We had a debrief and completed another exercise. We had lunch on the local fire service which was delicious and we headed back to watch the football.

Its been really busy at work recently. We have had a large number of major incidents and everyone has been rushed off their feet dealing with them. Its nice to work with a team that really pull together when the workload increases. I'm lucky to be where I am.


I would like to take the opportunity to wish PC David Rathband well and let him know that Police Officers and Staff across the country are thinking of him. Good luck.

Until next time.

CSI Guy

How do you do it?

Like on the TV? CSI? Do you see dead bodies? Do you go to murders?

Some common questions I'm asked when I speak to people about my job or even when I'm attending a not so violent scene.

My favourite one was:

"Ethel (can you tell I made that name up?) the guy from Forensics is here, you know, like off the TV, that program, VIS"

VIS? What is VIS?! Just smile and nod CSI guy.

I didn't grow up wanting to be a CSI. I thought of a career within the Police and worked a number of paid and voluntary roles within a Constabulary before I decided it was what I wanted to do.

I love my job. I get up at 0500am when I'm on earlies and I don't moan one bit (well, a little) It doesn't feel like I'm going to work! I'm sure in time, that may change, but I hope not.

In the time I have been with my current force, I have seen some gruesome things. The deceased male in the bath (see post) was one of them. I'd seen a deceased person before, when I worked for another force, but not as a CSI. If a week goes by without attending a scene where there isn't a deceased person, then it feels odd.

I've seen a lot of deceased people who have commited suicide. I've also seen deceased people who've been murdered. The strangest ones to attend are when someone has passed away without incident, without being involved in a fight or taking their own lives. We go to some incidents where people have passed away and the circumstances are unclear. Normally we'd attend to take photographs and confirm there had been no foul play. The photographs are taken on behalf of the coroner.

Friends and family ask me how I go to jobs and I don't get upset. It's not because I have no heart or I'm cold and have no feelings. I'm able to do it because I know that I have a job to do and I do it as professionally as possible. I think that if I'm one of the last to see that person before they are buried or cremated then I will do my best to ensure they are dealt with, with dignity and respect.

A lot of people say they couldn't do it.

I go home at the end of the day to my better half and I do normal things like everyone else. I might tell her I've had a stressful day so she makes the dinner though!

I enjoy going to any scene, but I enjoy going to major scenes more. I get a little buzz knowing that I'm one of only a few people that will attend that scene and will be able to help decipher what has happened and ultimately identify offenders.

As a CSI you should also expect some periods of inactivity. There is a lot of paperwork involved. You have to be meticulous in everything that you do. You have to be prepared to go to court and explain your actions and evidence to a Jury, some months later in some cases.

Depending where you are based in the Country will depend on the type of jobs and how often you attend those jobs. It's easy to make assumptions as to what incidents occur in what areas, but all sorts of crimes happen where you'd least expect it.

The benefit of my force, and it's the same in most others, is that a number of CSI's work from the same office. This means that everyone you see on a day to day basis goes through exactly the same as you do. Undoubtedly they've been to a scene before similar to the one you've just returned from. It's helpful to others to talk about what you experienced at a scene and what your thoughts were.

I'll be going on call as of July. I'm looking forward to it. I'll be sure to blog about my first call out.

Murder Weapon

This incident came about amongst three or four other murders and attempted murders. The office was full of people, well as full as it can be, with exhibits coming and going.

Detectives and Detective Sergeants were a common sight in the office, coming by for copies of photographs or to collect exhibits to take to the Forensic Science Service (FSS).

It was a particularly busy day, I was the only CSI on for our area covering volume crime scenes. I had completed my seventh burglary scene when the Crime Scene Manager called me over the radio.

Th Crime Scene Manager (CSM) is a CSI who usually has completed a number of years experience. To become a CSM, the CSI has to attend a specific course with the National Policing Improvement Agency. The course is a two week residential course at Harperley Hall and covers many aspects of Crime Scene Management. The course includes coordinating resources at a scene, devising and continually reviewing a plan of action for evidence recovery, liaison with specialist personnel and other persons involved in the investigation. The NPIA's website has more information for those who are interested....and to keep the NPIA happy :-)

I came on duty at 0700 and the CSM had come on duty after me as she had been at the scene the night before until late. She explained that she had returned to the scene and was there with a blood spatter analyst from the FSS. There had been a stabbing where the deceased had been stabbed a number of times and died as a result of the injuries sustained.

The police search team were deployed to do a fingertip search of the route the offender was believed to have taken when he left the scene and had discovered a knife in a nearby garden.

The CSM couldn't recover the weapon as there would be contamination issues. If the CSM were to attend both scenes then she could inadvertently transfer evidence from the initial scene to the second scene and this could give misleading information. The two scenes wouldn't even be attended by the same police officers for the same reason.

The CSM requested that I attend the scene and photograph and recover the knife.

I programmed the address into my sat nav and headed off.

As I pulled into the street I could see the large Mercedes Police Van at the other end of the street, it saved me looking for house numbers. I bumped my van up onto the pavement near two CID officers. I informed the control room I was at the scene and got out of the van.

I introduced myself to DC Detective, and his reply was "It's DS Detective" DS meaning he's a Detective Sergeant and not a Constable. Way to go. I'm making friends already.

I asked a few questions about the knife, and ascertained it was bloodstained and bent. Luckily it was still slim enough to fit into a knife tube. I grabbed my kit bag from the van and my camera case and approached the address.

As I walked through the door I could smell food. The family hasn't long sat down for lunch and then found the police all over their house and garden! Luckily when the knife was found, the officers were smart enough to realise that this was now a scene. One officer remained in the garden to protect the knife and the others left sharpish.

I put on my white suit, mask, gloves and overshoes. This way I knew that no matter what, I wasn't going to risk destroying any evidence. The knife had been outside overnight, however, it hadn't rained which was good.

I began to take photographs. I took one of the front of the property so anyone viewing the photographs would know the address. I then took photographs from each corner of the garden. This way there was a complete view of the whole garden from each angle.

The knife was in the last corner, so I took a long shot, middle shot and then changed lenses to use a macro for close up shots. The first few were as the knife was found, with some weeds and undergrowth in the way. Once I was happy I had a few photos of the knife exactly as it was found, I removed the weeds and undergrowth for a clearer shot of the knife.

Although there was a net curtain along the patio doors, I could feel six pairs of eyes all on me. After all, I was in this family's garden, with a white suit and mask on. It was probably the most excitement they had for a long time!

The knife was small, probably only four or five inches in blade length, it was a solid metal and silver grey. Although nothing special, it looked like a part of a set. It had blood along it's entirety. There were fingerprints in blood on the blade. This is great evidence and I've been lucky enough to recover it.

I took a series of photographs of the knife with a scale beside it. I turned the knife a few times to ensure each side was photographed. I then secured it into the knife tube I brought with me.

The knife tube is a plastic tube that splits into two. One part fits into the other and screws shut. Each end is reinforced with a metal cap. This tube allows the safe recovery and transport of bladed articles. I then put the tube into a tamper evident plastic bag that I had labelled with the exhibit number, time, location and description as well as some other identification specific information.

I cleared up everything I had taken to the address with me and once the knife was safely packaged I took my suit and other PPE off.

I returned to the station and completed the necessary paperwork and booked the knife into the secure property store.

I got home a few hours late but it was all worth the time.

Nightclub shooting

It's something that you would expect to happen in the USA, isn't it? Surely this doesn't happen in the UK? Sadly it does, and more often than one would expect.

Reports of gun related crime incidents are becoming common place in the newspapers and televisions within many regions of the UK. However, you do normally only tend to see the more high profile cases or those that the Police decide to issue a press release for.

There are many reasons behind gun crime and these vary slightly depending on the geographical location in which they occur. Some of the most common reasons are gang members enforcing respect for its members or families and protecting territory. Gangs and criminals (not mutually exclusive!) often use firearms to secure venture capital.

I often come to work and read the previous night's briefing pages and there's usually at least one incident that involved masked offenders using firearms in some form of violent crime. It doesn't shock me as much as I thought it would.

I used to work for a different police force before I became a CSI, in a different role, and I can't remember the last firearms incident that took place there and they are only separated by one other County

I arrived at work for 0640 hours and there were a number of cars already in the car park. This meant one of two things; either everyone else was super keen and early like me, or, more likely there had been a serious incident and they had been called out.

It was the latter.

Two CSIs had been called out through the night and had dealt with the initial examination of a shooting scene.

About a mile away from the station was a nightclub. It's primarily used for private functions such as birthday parties or wedding receptions. We're not in the City but only a few miles from it, but I wouldn't have either my birthday party or wedding reception at this club.

Most of the CSIs were busying themselves at their desks with various tasks, most related to the scene we were holding at the nightclub. There were two CSIs preparing to attend the location and continue the examination, CSI Woman who came to the Suicide incident with me being one of them. She asked if I'd like to help them at the scene as there was a lot to do.

I couldn't have answered quicker!

We got some equipment together, including handfuls of evidence bags, swabs, water viles and some white suits. The two CSIs who had attended through the night had conducted the initial examination, which included some photographs of the scene. fingerprinting of key areas and swabs of blood.

A Police Officer had been posted outside all night. The Officer is likely to be relieved every three or four hours, depending on how many Officers are on duty. The main role of the Officer is to protect the scene. There will be tape indicating the inner and outer corden. No one should pass either tape unless there is reason to. The Officer will also control the scene log. Anyone who enters or leaves the scene will have to give their name and collar number to the Officer who will record it in the log.

It turns out one offender shot himself in the leg and the other was injured during the shooting, so by the time we were ready to attend the scene, CID had already made enquiries to identify the two offenders from the incident. The presence of some good quality CCTV went a long way. One was in hospital and the other was in hiding. The officers began a manhunt for the second offender and it turned out he was wanted for similar offences a few months back.

There was a private function at the club during the night/morning and some unwanted guests turned up with one thing on their mind. Trouble.

It was our task to collect the evidence to show the offender's involvement and to identify any other people at the scene who were key witnesses or possible offenders. The club had been a haven for a number of known criminals that night, idents were going to come easily.

When you know you are going to be at a scene for some time (and we knew this meant days in this case), it's helpful to find a sterile area where you can set up kit and store evidence that is collected. There was an unused room where we left our cases and large supply of bags and swabs.

I brought a case with various Crimelites with me. The Crimelite is a specially designed light source for use at crime scenes. The Crimelites are a high intensity LED light source which are available in violet, blue, blue-green and green as well as a white light for general examination. Each CSI has a personal issue White Crimelite for examinations of any scene. The varying colours and bandwiths are useful for detecting evidence such as blood, latent marks and other evidence by providing contrast using coloured lights and filters. Goggles are worn to protect the eyes. It's not quite CSI: Miami with the orange goggles and UV light but along the same lines!

I used the light to detect blood and bodily fluids and you'd be amazed at what I discovered on some of the seats- I wish I could take one of these everywhere I go, thought I'm pretty sure I'd never want so sit down anywhere!

There was the smell of stale blood in the air. There was blood in the doorway and in the porch area, there was also a lot of blood in a seating area where first aid had been administered and where an Ambulance crew had treated one of the offenders.

I was asked to conduct a search for the bullet casing that was still outstanding. I looked for a couple of hours. I conducted a fingertip search of the whole place from one end to the other and was frustrated that I hadn't found it. After I'd finished, a CID officer stopped by to inform me that one of the weapons was believed to be a revolver- revolvers retain the casing. I wish he'd told me that a few hours before, but at least a thorough search had been conducted of the premises.

I'm keen to ensure this post isn't too long as I know it can be tedious to read and read.

The next few days I spent at this scene. It was easy to loose track of time inside as there were no windows and only the three of us there, often in seperate parts of the club. I used Magneta flake powder, a metal flake based powder and a magnet applicator wand to recover footwear impressions on a tiled area around the bar. I even recovered a complete footprint, where someone had obviously been bare footed. Not something you find at every crime scene.

I'll talk more about recovery of blood samples in a dedicated future post.

My Blogs so far..

In case you have missed them, below is a list of some of my most interesting blog posts since I started my career as a CSI last year.

Fire Fatality

Deceased Male in Bath

My First Post Mortem

Ride Along in the USA

Suicide

These are just a selection of my favourite posts/incidents.

I'll be blogging about a nightclub shooting I attended soon.

And remember you can follow me for updates on Twitter.

CSI Guy

Suicide

I've been lucky enough not to have attended any horrific suicides since I joined CSI. Needless to say, any suicide is sad. I think the saddest part for me is the fact that someone is in a situation that they believe causing their own death is the only answer.

In a professional way, I enjoyed going to this particular job. I know at first it sounds morbid or even heartless, but you have to understand that these are the type of incidents I will attend throughout my career, I will never enjoy the fact that people have caused their own death, but I do enjoy the opportunity to investigate it. My aim is to conduct myself as professionally as possible and that the investigation is conducted to the best of my ability.

I wasn't far off the end of an early turn (0700-1500) when the call came over the radio. Uniform and CID officers were at an address where a male was deceased. I didn't have to go, as the lates crew were on. CSI Woman (not the same person as CSI Girl obviously) was heading out to it and asked if I wanted to come along. I'd never turn down an opportunity to gain experience.

I sent a text message to my other half to tell her I'd be late home- she's used to it by now.

It didn't take long to get to the address, it was only a few miles away. I drove in a seperate van to CSI Woman so I could go back to the office when we'd finished. We approached the address together, but I let CSI Woman go slightly ahead of me, after all this was her job and she has much more experience than me.

I could see two uniformed officers at the end of the pathway, they'd already recognised our vans and knew who we were, the Detective was inside the property. We'd been called as it wasn't clear how the male had passed away at first, and we are called to any unexplained or suspicious deaths. A police officer's first and foremost duty is to protect life and property, once it had been ascertained that the male had passed away, officers should leave the address to preserve as much evidence as possible.

If it had turned out that the male had been murdered, for example, then the potential for contamination or disturbance of any evidence is high, especially if a Detective was wondering around inside picking things up!

CSI Woman waited at the door and called the Detective outside. He explained to us that the male was in the upstairs rear bedroom and that it had appeared he had taken an overdose.

CSI Woman and I suited and booted, we wore white suits, shoe covers, masks and gloves. This is for two reasons- the first and most important is to avoid any contamination of evidence. We don't want to deposit anything from our persons at the scene and nor do we want to move evidence on our clothing or shoes etc. The second reason is for hygiene, I don't particularly want any hazardous fluids on my clothing, and the other half also has an issue with it apparently.

The officers confirmed that the property had been secure upon their arrival, and that they'd forced the door with an enforcer as there were concerns for the safety of the occupant.

We made our way to the upstairs rear bedroom. It was important to actually look and observe whilst we made our way there- the stairs were void of any carpet. The bare wood was exposed, but it wasn't treated. There were splashes of paint on the wood. It was clear that this was old as the hallway seemed to have had paper on the walls for sometime.

As I walked into the bedroom where the male was, the first thing I saw was a large dark wood chest of drawers. There were various items on the top of this. The thing that stood out the most was the assortment of tablet containers, there were an unusually odd number of them.

As I pushed the door, it opened to show the whole room. No lights were on and it was cold, it was still light outside and the light shone through the window which gave a slight yellow hue to the room.

Face down, half on the bed and half on the floor, sloped at an awkward angle, was the deceased male. He was wearing a dark red jumper and green cord trousers, and he was likely to be in his late forties. The room was littered with cigarette ends and ash. There was a dustbin but there was little rubbish inside it, and I noted six empty whisky bottles on the floor near the male.

Before we touched or moved anything, CSI Woman took photographs. This allows a record to be made of the scene before we 'disturb' it. If we needed to confirm or query something at a later date, we could refer to the photographs.

Whilst CSI Woman was taking the photographs of the deceased male, I had a look in the front bedroom. It wasn't really a bedroom so much as a junk room. There were nondescript boxes stacked four or five high along one wall. They were addressed to the deceased male, and on closer investigation I could see they were full of Styrofoam balls. I dug around in the box and found a number of tubs, identical to those on the chest of drawers in the rear bedroom. I looked at one of the delivery notes inside one of the boxes, they had been shipped from an Internet based company in the States. They appeared to be mostly herbal tablets for weight loss- there were probably in excess of a hundred containers of tablets.

The Detective had found a note in the front room downstairs which appeared to be written by the deceased male. It was a note explaining why he had taken his own life and how he couldn't carry on with things as they were. The male had experienced serious mental health issues for some time and it was evident that his treatment had little effect. Along with the note were details of the deceased male's bank accounts, his will and other documents that would assist his family in dealing with his affairs after his death.

The fact that everything so far was suggesting that the male had committed suicide meant that we now had to ensure there was no evidence to the contrary at the scene.

CSI Woman and I had a thorough look around the property. Sadly, there weren't many personal possessions there at all, the fridge was full of food that had been decaying for weeks, even though the male had been seen alive only a few days ago. I also noted that there was a pet's food bowl in the kitchen on a mat and a cat flap, so I assumed the cat was out.

The male was obese and appeared rather unfit. However, there were fitness and body building products in the kitchen cupboards, including more containers of the herbal tablets that I had found upstairs.

Once we had finished our search and established that there appeared to be nothing that would raise suspicion of anything other than suicide, we went back to the upstairs rear bedroom.

We had to check the deceased male's body for any bruising or wounds, I checked the male's back. His skin was blistered and off colour but there were no wounds. As the male was of large build, it took two of us to turn him over. Where his face had been against the edge of the bed, it had flattened on one side.

After the heart stops beating, the blood in the body stops moving around. Gravity will take effect on the blood and it will settle in the body- this is known as Lividity or Livor Mortis. When the skin where the blood has settled comes into contact with an hard object or surface, that area appears to be white, the blood cannot settle there due to the contact. The male's face had an area of skin that was still white, whereas the rest was a dark red colour, almost purple. Sometimes Lividity can look like bruising and it's important to realise the difference.

Underneath the male was another empty whisky bottle. It appears he may have had this bottle in his hand when he fell.

We checked the male's hands for any cuts that would suggest he'd been involved in an altercation before he died, we also checked the rest of his body, and there was nothing to suggest anything other than suicide.

Once we were satisfied that it was suicide, we requested that the undertakers attend the scene to remove the deceased male. Whilst we waited, I collected all of the open containers of pills from the bedroom and bagged them in clear plastic bags. These would prove useful if the Pathologist had any queries about the male's stomach contents when it came to the Post Mortem.

After a short time, the undertakers arrived. It was the same two undertakers that had attended the decomposed male in the bath (http://tinyurl.com/yfvgex6). The first thing we discussed was how difficult it would be for them to remove the male. I took them upstairs to the rear bedroom where the deceased male was, they looked at him and then looked at me with raised eyebrows. I took this to mean they'd need a hand in getting the male into the bag they'd brought with them.

The undertaker unzipped a large, thick, black bag, and lay it on the ground beside the male. We each took hold of the male and lifted him only a few inches off the ground and sideways into the open bag. He was heavy and the bag only just closed, he filled the bag with little room to spare.

The undertakers took the male down the stairs, pausing three times to rest before finally getting out of the front door and to their vehicle.

I had one quick look around the property and ensured we left with all of our kit and left. I got home only a few hours late.

NPIA training - Module One

I spoke briefly about the training course provided by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) in my previous posts.

I have been to, and returned from the course, the dates of which will remain unknown to allow some anonymity.

The NPIA delivers a number of courses to forces across the UK and even some International forces. Before the implementation of the NPIA's training input for CSI's, each force would deliver their own input. This was beneficial to understanding local policies and procedures however there would be regional differences in the service provided. This was recognised by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC) and a recommendation was that CSIs should attend a National training course before becoming competent in the role.

Older CSI's or SOCOs (some forces still use this name) would attend a nine week residential course and become full CSIs when they left, meaning they could attend all volume crime (burglaries and theft etc) as well as all major crime (murder, rape, serious assaults and so on).


The new training input is divided into two courses, a five and four week residential course. Once CSI's have attended the five week course they are competent to perform the role of a Volume Crime Scene Investigator. There is then a recommended period of six months where these skills can be implemented in a CSI's own force area before they return to complete the four week course. Once this has been completed, the CSI is then competent to attend major scenes alone. This new approach is known as a modular course, consisting of two modules.


Harperley Hall is the NPIA's Forensic Centre and is based in County Durham just outside of a aptly named town of Crook. The centre is equipped with ten classrooms, a state of the art laboratory, conference rooms for one hundred and twenty people, accommodation for eighty people and a practical training block.


The practical training block (PTB) is a complete mock set of a real street. The street is home to a bar, a travel agents, a Dominos Pizza shop, a newspaper office and twelve identical bedrooms. Outside the shops is a road, complete with pavements, yellow lines, street signs and cars. The PTB is where CSIs are able to put into practise what they have been taught through classroom input from the instructors.


The course is well planned and prepared. Most of the instructors have performed the role of CSI for a number of years in forces across the country and now deliver the training to new CSIs.


As I have previously blogged, before attending the course, each student has to complete a pre-course workbook. This workbook encourages attachments to various departments within each force. This allows the CSIs to understand how their force performs certain tasks and the policies and procedures employed in their particular force. The workbook also aims to allow a basic understanding of photography and forensic recovery. This allows each student to be at the same level of understanding before the course starts so their knowledge can be developed at the same rate.


We covered fingerprinting techniques, footwear impression recovery, photography, DNA recovery, approaching scenes, preserving evidence and scenes, documenting findings and closing scenes. We also received input on how to obtain the most information surrounding a scene as possible by investigative interviewing of witnesses.


As CSIs we will undoubtedly have to attend court to give evidence during our career. During the course we attend two mock court sessions where the evidence we recovered at a scene was questioned by a defence and prosecution barrister. This was particularly interesting and made everyone nervous!


The input covered all of the skills required to successfully examine a scene and recover evidence. I'd love to go into detail about this but wouldn't want to give too much away and make it easier for people to minimise the evidence they leave at scenes!


If you have any specific questions surrounding the course, please ask and I will respond.