Preliminary Evaluation essay

In a bombing assessment, the officer at the crime scene must first assess the scene thoroughly to establish the best action to take. This involves several procedures depending on the scope and the intensity of the explosion. When a responder arrives at the scene of the explosion, the following should be conducted: (Fish, Miller & Braswell, 2011)

I. He or she should establish an incident command system.

II. He or she should identify the scene hazards such as hazardous chemicals, structural        collapse, and secondary explosive devices.

III. He or she should also identify witnesses, victims, and presence of evidence.

IV. He or she should preserve the collected evidence that may be compromised by the          weather condition.

b) Ensuring the scene safety.

The officer present must identify and eliminate all safety hazards that might still be present at the scene.

c) Providing first aid

Through this, the medics present are able to take care of life threatening injuries. However, caution must be taken to ensure they do not tamper with evidence at the scene.

d) Establishing security and control

The first respondents at the crime scene need to establish a controlled security perimeter. In addition, they need to designate staging areas as well as initiate any necessary documentation. This creates a way for subsequent investigations to be conducted.

The collection of physical evidence is critical in a bombsite since it is used for further examination in the crime laboratory. The evidence gathered by an expert depends on whether it will be helpful in identifying the main cause of the explosion. Physical evidence collected should be handled carefully to prevent contamination. An investigator searches for physical evidence such as, finger prints, fibers, blood, residue of chemicals, debris of explosive devices, and disbursement of bodies in an explosion scene. This physical evidence provides information about the activities that were involved during the explosion; therefore, an analyst can determine the cause of the explosion (Fish, Miller & Braswell, 2011).