After officers have gone
Crime scene cleanup in Medford
Police collect evidence. They do not clean. When an assault, a shooting or a homicide happens in a house or an apartment, the room is handed back as it was found. Call and you will be put in touch with an independent crime scene cleanup company that works in Medford and the towns around it.
Phones are picked up day and night, all week
Nothing is cleaned until the scene is released
While an investigation is open, the room is evidence. Oregon law allows a medical examiner or the district attorney to take control of a building to preserve evidence about how someone died (ORS 146.103), and detectives decide when their own work there is finished.
Before the last officer leaves, ask two things: is the home released, and what is the case number. If nobody thought to ask, Medford's non-emergency dispatch number is 541-776-7206.
You can still call a cleanup company before the release. It cannot start work, but it can tell you what to expect and be ready when the word comes.
What the company usually deals with
- Blood and tissue on floors, walls, ceilings, doors and furniture
- Carpet, padding, mattresses and upholstery that cannot be made safe, bagged and removed as regulated waste
- Fingerprint powder and other traces investigators leave behind
- Broken glass and damaged furnishings in the rooms involved
- Lingering odor, treated after everything that causes it is gone
Help with the bill when a crime caused it
The Oregon Department of Justice runs the Crime Victims' Compensation Program. Its list of benefits includes crime scene clean-up when a compensable crime took place in a private residence.
The program pays last, not first. Its question-and-answer page says prior resources must be used and that it counts homeowner insurance as one of them. So the usual order is the insurer, then the state.
The department recommends applying with the help of an advocate from a county victim assistance program. The application page has the online portal and the paper forms, including a separate form for the families of homicide victims.
Crime scene cleanup questions
May I go back into the house before it is cleaned?
Once officers release it, the house is yours to enter. Most people stay out of the affected rooms and keep the doors shut. If the only bathroom or the kitchen is involved, tell the company; it changes how soon you can live there again.
Do I have to be present while the company works?
No. Someone has to let the workers in and agree the written price. After that many families prefer to be elsewhere, and a relative or friend can stand in for you.
The crime happened in my rental unit. Who arranges this?
The property owner normally hires the company, because the building is theirs. Our page for landlords and property managers covers the tenant's side and the owner's.
No rush, no pressure
A Rogue Valley cleanup business is a phone call away
Begin with the street and a sentence about the trouble. From there the business asks its own questions, lays out the work it has in mind and names a figure. Going ahead, or not, is left entirely with you.
Pick up the phone when it suits you
You will be speaking with a Rogue Valley cleanup business that has no ties to this website beyond the referral. There is no script to follow. Tell it your way.
Call (541) 210-5322Phones are picked up day and night, all week
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