After a violent crime

Crime scene cleanup in San Jose

When the detectives finish and the tape comes down, what is left in the room becomes the owner's or the tenant's to deal with. You are allowed to hand it to someone else.

Call (669) 274-0805

Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

A bedroom doorway closed off with clear plastic sheeting and blue tape in a carpeted hallway.

Wait for the release

A crime scene belongs to the investigation until the police say otherwise. In San Jose that means the San Jose Police Department. Do not clean, shift furniture or throw anything out until an officer or a detective tells you the scene is released. If nobody has told you, ask. The department's non-emergency number is 408-277-8900, and having the report number ready shortens the call.

Two more things are worth asking before the officers go: whether they took anything as evidence that you should expect back, and how to get a copy of the report. An insurer or the state compensation program is likely to want that number.

What the work covers

Blood and tissue on floors, walls, ceilings and furniture, including fine spatter that is easy to miss
Carpet, pad, drywall or upholstery that has soaked through and has to be cut out
Powder and other traces the investigation left behind
Broken glass and damaged items in the affected rooms, bagged apart from the regulated waste
Disinfection of the hard surfaces that stay

Tear gas and pepper spray leave a residue that needs different methods. If police used either, say so when you phone.

Paying for it after a crime

State compensation

California's Victim Compensation Board can reimburse reasonable crime scene clean-up costs when the crime happened in a residence or a vehicle. The person who paid, or who took on the bill, is the one who claims. Two conditions matter: the company must be registered with the Department of Public Health as a trauma scene waste management practitioner, and the board pays for removing biohazards, not for repairing or replacing damaged property.

Help with the forms

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Victim Services Unit has advocates who help victims and families apply. They can help even when no suspect has been identified and no charges have been filed. Walk-ins are welcome.

Questions to put to the company

Under what name are you registered with the California Department of Public Health?
Will the written price say which rooms and which materials it covers?
What will be removed, and what do you expect to save?
Will I get an invoice I can send to an insurer or to the Victim Compensation Board?
Who do I call if an odor or a stain shows up after you have left?

Two things people ask

Can a landlord make a tenant pay for crime scene cleanup?

That turns on the lease and on what happened, and it is a question for the landlord, a renter's insurer or a tenant lawyer, not for a cleanup company. What the company can do is give a written price that either side can pass to an insurer.

Does a shop or an office qualify for state compensation?

The board's clean-up benefit is written for crimes in a residence or a vehicle. For business premises, start with the business's own insurer.