Homicide, assault, shooting
Crime scene cleanup in Las Vegas
Detectives take what they need as evidence and then give the property back as they found it. Trauma cleanup, as the trade calls it, is the job of putting the rooms right again, and it is arranged by the family or the owner.
Someone picks up 24 hours a day, every day
First, the release
Nothing can be touched while the address is still a crime scene. In the City of Las Vegas and in unincorporated Clark County the investigating agency is Metro. In North Las Vegas and Henderson it is the city's own police department.
Ask the detective two questions before they go: is the whole property released or only part of it, and who do I phone if I find something that looks like evidence. Write down the event number. A cleanup company, an insurer and the victim program will each ask for it.
You may phone a cleanup company before the release. Plenty of families do, so that a time is already agreed when the word comes.
What the company does once it is allowed in
Walks through and prices
Someone looks at every affected room, including places that are easy to miss: under furniture, behind baseboards, down an air return.
Sets a boundary
Plastic sheeting closes off the work area so nothing is tracked through the house.
Takes out what can't be cleaned
Carpet, pad, soft furniture and sometimes sections of drywall or subfloor. These leave in sealed containers as regulated waste.
Cleans, disinfects and checks
Hard surfaces are cleaned and treated with disinfectant, then checked again. Fingerprint powder and other traces of the investigation are cleaned up too.
What moves the price
- How far it spread
- One corner of one room is a different job from several rooms and a hallway.
- What it reached
- Tile and sealed concrete clean up. Carpet, grout lines, wood and drywall absorb.
- What has to leave
- Each piece of flooring or furniture that is removed adds labor and disposal.
- Extra damage
- Broken glass, forced doors or tear gas residue, if officers used it, add work.
Crime scene questions
Will Metro or the detectives recommend a cleaner?
Don't count on it. Officers investigate; choosing and paying a cleanup company is left to the family or owner.
The crime happened in a rental. Who arranges it?
Usually the landlord, since the building is theirs, though a tenant's own belongings are the tenant's concern. See the page for landlords and property managers.
Is it all right to stay in the home meanwhile?
If the affected room can be closed off and you feel able to, yes. Many people stay with relatives until the work is finished. Ask the company how long they expect to need.
Las Vegas valley, any hour
A phone call is enough to get started
You don't need to have every answer first. Questions are welcome before the home is released, before the insurer has replied and before you have decided anything.
Talk it through with a cleanup company
Tell them what happened, what kind of home it is and whether police or the coroner have finished. They will say how they would go about it and what they charge for. Whether to hire them is up to you.
Call (725) 223-9153Someone picks up 24 hours a day, every day
Your conversation may be recorded. Why, and what is kept, is set out in the privacy policy and the disclosure.