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Following a violent or serious criminal act, such as a murder, the crime scene is cordoned off to allow the police, fire service and forensic investigators to gather any evidence and establish what happened. Once their enquiries have finished they very rarely offer to clean up the crime scene. That rather grim task is left to the family of victim who are clearly very happy to employ the services of a specialist team of cleaners to carry out the task. The work is definitely not for everyone but the excellent pay could certainly tempt a few people to give it a try. Crime scene cleaners charge around $600 (£400) an hour for their services and many people would pay a lot more. So could you be a crime scene cleaner? Read on to find out more…

The Low-down
Crime scene cleaning is a niche market within the general cleaning industry. Technically it’s known as crime and trauma decontamination and as the name suggests, cleaners are required to clear up potentially dangerous biological and chemical waste. Whether the scene is contaminated with blood and bodily tissue or perhaps was used as to manufacture drugs, such as a meth lab, crime scene cleaners are employed to restore the scene to its previous liveable state.
Government and federal regulations deem all blood and bodily fluids as bio-hazards with the potential to carry infection. Therefore you must have specialist knowledge to dispose of this waste in a safe and controlled manner. A blood soaked carpet is likely to have contaminated the floorboards beneath it so a full risk assessment must be carried out before any work can be started. It’s not just the case of cleaning the carpet and calling it a day. You also need permits to transport and dispose of bio-hazardous waste – companies that operate in this specialist niche have all the necessary permits, training and skills to carry out the task.

Your Skills

So what skills do you need to be a crime scene cleaner? Well many people enter the field from a medical services background – people who have worked in the emergency room are usually able to adapt to handling blood and gore on a daily basis. A background in construction can also be beneficial as some scenes, such as in the case of meth labs, will require the removal of walls within a house to completely decontaminate the scene. Regardless of your previous experience, a strong stomach and the ability to detach yourself from the work are essential if you are to succeed in this challenging industry.

You will also need a sense of compassion as your employer is often the grieving family of the victim and they will look to you as performing a delicate and personal service for their bereaved relative. You may have turn into a make-shift counsellor too as you are likely to be the last one remaining on the crime scene as family relatives begin to return.

Work & Salary
Employment can be found by contacting existing companies to see if they are hiring. There are no formal exams to pass in order to be a crime scene cleaner however specialist training companies will equip you with the necessary skills in order to comply with the latest regulations. The salary for new recruits starts anywhere between $35,000 and $50,000 with wages rising quickly with experience. It’s not unheard of for experienced cleaners to be earning six-figure salaries.

Life as a crime scene cleaner is certainly not for everyone but the work is essential and working in such a niche industry, your job security is assured. So if your looking for interesting career that pays well perhaps you should consider a new career in crime scene cleaning.