Public urged not to crowd crime scenes, they may be trampling on evidence

Members of the public who go onto crime scenes with the intention of taking photos and videos to post to social media are being asked not to do so.

This appeal was made by detectives responsible for the management and processing of crime scenes during a recent edition of Cop Chat on WEFM.

Speaking on the topic ‘First at the scene – How you can help Preserve Justice’, Detective Corporal, Joel Williams explained that the crime scene is the foundation on which a case is built and they have been experiencing ongoing issues with people overcrowding scenes and leading to the contamination of evidence.

“That is an ongoing issue that we have where persons inadvertently tamper with evidence on the scene, and when the crime scene expert is ready to extract the evidence [detectives] will be faced with difficulties,” Detective Constable Dilford Collins said.

Collins highlighted the issue of footage being posted from the crime scene on social media.

“Something that we realize has been happening, persons are more focused on taking photos for social media. It has been an ongoing issue for the police. We are humbly asking persons to desist from doing this.

These can have a very negative impact on the outcome of the case. It can have a negative impact on the victim.”

The detective advised that instead of posting to social media, the material be handed over to the Information Technology Department of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF).

Detective Constable Nicos Hope, who was awarded the 2024 Best Detective prize in the Criminal Investigations Department’s (CID) awards, said members of the public are not aware that they are trampling on evidence.

“When civilians crowd a scene they contaminate the scene … they would be touching, walking over evidence that they cannot see, making it more difficult for investigators and police officers.”

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