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Macon County - EMS - Continuing Education

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Crime Scene Awareness

Topics Covered in this Web Training Session:

Risk Reduction at Scene
Violent Situations
Evasive Techniques
Evidence Considerations

First and Foremost:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DEAD HERO!!!!

Your safety strategy should begin as soon as you are dispatched on a call.

When you are dispatched on a potentially violent call,
you should:
Never follow law enforcement into a scene.
Never approach the scene until you are advised it is secure.
Approach potentially unsafe scenes in a single file.
Hold a flashlight to the side of your body not the front.
Stand to the side of the door when knocking.

Potentially dangerous scenes:
Highway encounters
Violent street scenes
Murders, assaults, robberies
Dangerous crowds
Street gangs
Drug-related crimes
Clandestine drug labs
Domestic violence

Dangerous Crowds and Bystanders
should ALWAYS be cause for concern.
Signs of impending danger will include
Shouts or increasingly loud voice
Pushing or shoving
Hostilities toward anyone
Rapid increase in crowd size
Inability of law enforcement to control bystanders

Street Gangs - Crips, Bloods, Almighty Latin Nation, just to name a few

NO EMS personnel is totally immune from gang activity
Drug-related Crimes - drugs and violence go hand-in-hand because of high cash flow, addiction and weapons >>> dangerous combination.

Each EMS provider should be aware of the signs and symptoms that the patient has been using illicit drugs.

The following are signs of drug involvement:
Prior history of drugs in the neighborhood
Drug related comments by bystanders
Drug paraphernalia

Common abused substances sold on the streets:

Clandestine Drug Labs -
Labs are becoming more common place.
Used to manufacture LSD, methamphetamine, crack and more

The scene is a HAZMAT situation

Actions to be taken by the EMS provider:
Leave the area immediately
DO NOT touch anything
Never stop any chemical reactions already in progress
Notify the police
Do not smoke near lab
Initiate ICS and HAZMAT procedures
Consider evacuation of area
Tactical considerations:
Your best response to violence is observation

Use these safety tactics to STAY SAFE:

Retreat - move away from danger
Cover and Concealment - protection by placing something solid between yourself and danger
Distraction and evasion - throw equipment and/or objects between you and attacker
Warning signals and communication - be aware of defensive body language and demeaning tone in conversation
Tactical Patient Care
Increasing violence >>> increased chances of being involved in a violent or potentially violent situation.

Tactical EMS
The provision of care in the hot zone, such as sniper situations, often necessitates risks far beyond those found on most EMS calls.

Medical personnel assigned to such incidents require special training and authorization known as Tactical EMS (TEMS)

How does TEMS differ from routine EMS. . . . . . .

The major priority is to extract the patient from the hot zone, and moved to tactical cold zones.....routine EMS is not going in until the scene is secure.
Care may be modified to meet tactical requirements
More trauma than medical
Treatment and transport decisions must almost always be through IC.

EMS at Crime Scenes.....

The main goal of performing EMS at crime scenes is to provide high - quality patient care while preserving evidence
NEVER jeopardize patient care for the sake of evidence....however, do not perform patient care with disregard to evidence either.
Should be well versed in situational awareness, if it looks like evidence then it probably is.
Record the facts and record them accurately

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EMS #:

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Emergency Medical Services - Continuing Education - Test

1.   What is your # 1 priority at the scene?

2.   What is(are) signs of impending danger with regards to dangerous crowds?

3.   Please choose BEST answer to describe the "hot zone"

4.   Which answer best describes a cause for concern in drug-related crimes?

5.   If you walk into a scene and suspect there is evidence of a crime scene, with imminent threat, what should you do?

Click here for CME Completion Certificate

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Emergency Medical Services - Continuing Education - Test