While crime does not pay the perpetrator, some people do make a living cleaning up crime scenes. While it’s not always an easy job, and it’s not for everyone, crime scene cleanup services are in demand in many parts of the country.
People who clean crime scenes come in after the police finish their work and remove any hazardous materials, such as blood and bodily fluids, from the scene. Because you will deal with potentially dangerous substances, you need training and certification in handling these materials before you set out to take your first assignments.
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If you’ve ever wondered if you have what it takes to start your own business in cleaning up after crimes, check out these tips.
Behind The Biohazard Suit: A Look Into Cleanup After Tragedies
Of course, with any business, you must create a plan for how you want your company to operate. The business plan will include information on the scope of your business. You will need to conduct copious amounts of research about your local market and competitors before answering these questions about your proposed business. If you want a business loan or other type of startup funding, you’ll need a concrete plan.
Will you focus on only cleaning up bodily fluids, or will you broaden your offerings to fire recovery or drug labs? The type of cleanup you want your business to conduct will inform the biohazard cleanup license training courses you choose for your employees.
As for employees, how many will you need? Do you want independent contractors, or should you hire salaried workers? Consider starting small unless you become a franchise owner of an existing chain of businesses. Starting on your own in any business is challenging. You may consider opening a franchise if you find an opportunity available in your area. Franchise owners have the benefit of marketing and structure of a larger corporation with the control of running their local unit.
Biohazard Cleaning: How To Clean Crime Scenes, Meth Labs And More
Plan how much you will charge for your services. Research the prices of other companies in your area charge. For example, one company told the Chicago Tribune that prices for a one-room homicide cleanup range from $1500 to $3000. The costs increase based on the complexity of the work. In some instances, your company may need to remove wallboard and flooring and install replacements, depending on the material and the depth of saturation.
While thinking about prices for your services, consider payment methods you will accept. Will you require upfront payments in the form of cash, check or credit? Or will you be willing to allow insurance companies to pay you for your work? The latter will require considerable time and effort, but it could increase the number of customers you get by facilitating the process for already grieving families.
Think about your customer base. Will you market your services mainly to law enforcement agencies? Do you want to target property managers who want to turn over properties as quickly as possible? What about homeowners? Are you willing to work directly with the victim of a crime or their family in your cleanup duties?
Amazon.com: Biohazard Remediation & Hoarding Cleanup: A Complete Business Startup Guide Ebook
You don’t have to outline the exact costs, but know what you will use for equipment, contracting fees and labor. Outline these amounts to help identify how much you will spend in cleanup and what your profits will be based on the price you charge.
A traditional business plan has seven sections that thoroughly explain everything an investor needs to know about your business proposal. A well-made business plan can help you get the funding you need to start.
Some states require registering your crime scene cleanup business. California is one example where to register, you must have a contractual relationship with an approved medical waste disposal company or transporter. If you don’t register, you may not be able to work in the state. Florida is the only other state requiring crime scene cleanup businesses to register with the state. However, state laws can change regularly. Check your state’s regulations for what you need to do. Failure to do so could halt your operations.
Springboro Couple Start Biohazard Cleaning Business That Handles Traumatic Death And Hoarding Situations
Both California and Florida monitor trauma cleanup businesses under their respective Departments of Health. While neither state regulates the manner of cleaning, both require registration of the business with the state. For instance, in California, while the state does not regulate how registered companies clean, it does offer an outline of what a trauma scene cleanup crew should do to control infectious substances. Users of a cleanup crew’s services can use the information to determine whether the job followed protocol.
Florida, for example, requires trauma cleanup businesses to register both as biomedical waste generators and transporters, you will need the latter to carry more than 25 pounds of waste from a crime scene. In California, any medical waste requires transport by a licensed medical waste transportation provider.
States do not require a specific certification in trauma scene cleanup. However, you will need training for yourself and your employees to ensure you know how to handle the substances you encounter. For instance, you will need OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Training since this is required for anyone who come in contact with infectious human bodily substances such as blood, saliva, and other bodily fluids. Training on OSHA regulations governing Hazard Communication will also teach you how to work safety with the chemicals used for the clean-ups.
Clean Up After The Crime
If you get involved in cleaning up illicit drug labs then the training you’d need depends on the requirements of the local authorities. They may consider such drug labs hazardous waste sites, in which case specific training requirements, such as OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response training, would apply.
Having OSHA training gives you an edge in finding work because it helps you prove to clients that your crew knows how to make crime scenes safe for unprotected individuals to return to. Training also keeps your employees safe when dealing with bodily fluids and the pathogens they can carry.
You need an equipment list to plan your costs for each job. The equipment your crew carries should prepare them to clean up blood and other fluids. You will need to include:
Tips For Choosing A Crime Scene Cleanup Company
Look for disinfecting products approved for cleaning biomedical waste. Hospital cleaning supply stores should have the products you need for your business.
Likely, you will want to work with a medical waste transportation company to remove waste from the scene. Coordinate with that company to determine the types of containers you need to use for the waste. Do not throw away biomedical waste in the regular garbage to avoid fines from local governments and putting others at risk.
Whatever business you start, you must market it. While promoting a crime scene cleanup company seems grim, you need to do it to get customers to keep you in business.
Crime Scene Cleanup Business 'is Not A Job For Everyone'
Contact local law enforcement agencies to offer your services. If you operate in a state that requires registration, you may get business from individuals who find you on the state’s Health Department website and need trauma scene cleaning.
For every job you do, get photos before and after the work finishes. These pictures can show others how well you restore the area to its appearance before the crime occurred. Try to get testimonials when possible. These quotes from customers and the pictures of your work will make establishing your reputation easier.
Promote your employees’ training and keep them updated on the latest OSHA changes by offering continuing education opportunities each year. If you work with insurance companies, showing that your employees have adequate training that they regularly reinforce may be a requirement for compensation.
How To Succeed As A Crime Scene Cleaner
Don’t discount your online presence. In today’s society, a business without a website is suspect. Use the website as a way to describe your business and showcase your former jobs. Maintain social media pages that you update daily as a way for prospective customers to get answers to questions.
Throughout all your interactions, especially with family members of the deceased, display a high degree of sympathy. Showing empathy to your customers is a vital part of the job.
Also, maintain your professionalism in doing your job. You need to be thorough to not only protect those in the building from bloodborne pathogens from the crime scene but also from memories of the incident. Your job as a trauma scene cleanup company is helping the family to move on by removing the physical evidence of the crime. Always take the weight of this task seriously.
What Is Biohazard Cleanup?
Like all small businesses, starting your own company to clean up crime scenes has pros and cons. You have all the concerns of any small business coupled with having to train employees to handle the hazards found at crime scenes safely.
Depending on where you operate your business, you may find no shortage of work. Larger cities and metropolitan areas may offer your company more business than a small town. If you work with a law enforcement agency, finding jobs will be even easier. Getting such an endorsement, though, will require hard work ad proving your company’s value.
When someone says crime scene cleanup, your first thought may be the scene of a murder. This isn’t the only type of crime scene that needs cleaning, though. Break-ins that
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