Criminal Justice: Prioritizing Emergency Response at a Crime Scene

This report delves into the critical considerations surrounding crime scene investigation, emphasizing the prioritization of emergency response and the ethical responsibilities of law enforcement officers. It explores the delicate balance between preserving life and securing evidence, highlighting the importance of immediate action in potentially dangerous situations. The report examines factors influencing decision-making, including the paramount importance of protecting human life, and integrates a Christian worldview perspective to underscore the moral dimensions of these critical decisions. It also references key literature in the field, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject matter, including the importance of responding to emergencies before securing the crime scene and its impact on the collection and preservation of evidence. The report also highlights the significance of res gestae statements and the role of officer safety and property protection.

Running head: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
CRIMNAL JUSTICE
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Author Note

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Handling Emergencies before Securing Crime Scene
A crime scene is a location which is association with the crime that has been
committed and can be seen as containing physical evidence which is important for the
investigation of the crime (Baxter Jr, 2015). For the collection and preservation of evidence,
the most important aspect is the protection of the crime scene. Protecting the crime scene is
important for keeping the evidence important to the investigation uncontaminated until the
time when it could be recorded and collected (Dutelle, 2014). However, responding to
emergencies before securing crime scenes is considered to be most important for the law
enforcement officers even if there is a risk of the evidence getting tampered. In any kind of
preliminary investigation handling of the emergencies is considered to be more important
than securing the crime scene. The emergencies include providing first aid; detaining,
questioning and either releasing or arresting of the suspects present in the crime scene
(Crandall & Crandall, 2017). Attending to emergencies is critical as the res gestae statements
are considered as the spontaneous statements and are closely related to the actions involving
crimes. These res gestae statements are often times considered more truthful than the planned
statements taken later.
Factors to consider for Potentially Dangerous Situation
When a responding officer is on a “hot” call there are certain factors that the officer is
required to consider, especially when the situation is observed to be potentially dangerous.
The basic considerations that a responding officer is required to follow or adapt are to be
thoroughly familiar with the crimes and the elements thereof. If there is a question of the
safety of the life of any individual; it is the duty of the officer to be responding in an
appropriate manner for protecting the life and safety of such individual. In case of an

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emergency situation the responding officers should not be thinking about the availability or
the usage of the required equipment. The only focus of a responding officer in case of an
emergency is to deal with the situation in hand as they have been trained to do. Therefore the
primary focus of the responding officers is the protection of life and safety of people and it
also includes the protection of the life and safety of the officers themselves (Caldero, Dailey
& Withrow, 2018). The next factor to consider for a responding officer is the protection of
the property, gathering and preserving evidence, documentation of the events in an accurate
manner and the establishment of reasonable grounds for the identification and arresting the
offenders.
Factor Playing Role in Decision Making
In my belief the protection of life and safety of people and the life and safety of one’s
self plays the biggest role in the decision making process. The primary duty of a law
enforcement officer is to act for the protection of the people, therefore, even during a
potentially dangerous situations the responding officers should consider their responsibility
for the protection of life and safety of people.
Christian Worldview Perspective
Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the
slaughter. – Proverbs 24:11

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Reference
Baxter Jr, E. (2015). Complete crime scene investigation handbook. CRC press.
Caldero, M. A., Dailey, J. D., & Withrow, B. L. (2018). Police ethics: The corruption of
noble cause. Routledge.
Crandall, R. E., & Crandall, W. R. (2017). On-scene guide for crisis negotiators. CRC press.
Dutelle, A. W. (2014). An introduction to crime scene investigation. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.