- The property owner arranges and pays for the cleanup; police and the city do not.
- Homeowners, renters and commercial policies often cover it, so call the insurer early.
- Connecticut's victim compensation program lists crime scene clean-up of up to $1,000.
- Photos and an itemized scope make every claim, insurance or state, easier to approve.
Who is responsible for the cleanup
Once police and the medical examiner release a home or business, the scene belongs to its owner again, and so does the cleanup. Police departments, fire departments and the medical examiner do not clean scenes, and town services do not either. For a rented home, the landlord normally arranges and pays, often through the building's insurance, while the tenant's own policy may cover personal belongings.
That can feel unfair to a family that has just been through a crime, which is why the funding options below matter. In most cases at least part of the cost is covered by someone other than the family.
Insurance usually comes first
Homeowners, renters and commercial property policies often cover crime scene cleanup as part of the damage to the property, sometimes with a deductible. Call the insurer as soon as you can, give them the police report number, and ask whether they want to send an adjuster before work starts. Most insurers accept photos and a detailed scope from the cleanup company instead.
Vehicles are similar. If a crime happened in a car or truck, the comprehensive part of an auto policy is the usual place to start.
Connecticut's victim compensation program
Connecticut's Judicial Branch runs an Office of Victim Services compensation program for crime-related costs that insurance and other resources do not cover. Its published list of covered expenses includes crime scene clean-up of up to $1,000, payable to the person who paid some or all of the cost, which is often a family member rather than the victim.
The program sits behind insurance: it pays for what is left after other coverage, not instead of it. Its staff can answer questions about eligibility and the application at 1-888-286-7347.
- The crime has to have been reported to police.
- Keep the itemized invoice and proof of payment for the cleanup.
- Keep any insurance decision letter showing what was and was not covered.
- Ask the program directly about deadlines and documents for your case.
The paperwork that makes claims easier
Whichever way the cleanup is paid for, the same documents do most of the work: the police report or case number, dated photos of the affected areas before and after cleaning, an itemized scope that lists what was cleaned, removed and disposed of, and a record of the biomedical waste handed to a permitted transporter. Connecticut's environmental agency requires materials soaked with body fluids from a scene to be moved by a DEEP-permitted biomedical waste transporter, so that record should exist for every job.
A good cleanup company prepares these as part of the work, so the family is not chasing paperwork during an already hard time.
What drives the cost
Cost depends on the size of the affected area, what has to be removed, such as carpet, pad or drywall, how much biomedical waste is packaged, how long it has been since the event, and whether odor treatment is needed. A small, contained scene costs far less than one spread across rooms. Ask for the scope in writing before work begins so you, the insurer and the state program are all looking at the same list.
When to call us. Once police release the scene, call us at any hour. We clean and disinfect, handle the biomedical waste through a permitted transporter, and give you dated photos and an itemized scope for your insurer and the state program.
Sources
- Connecticut Judicial Branch: Office of Victim Services compensation
- Connecticut DEEP: Biomedical waste FAQs
About the author. Viola Nash is the Cleaning and Disinfection Guides Editor at IMD Disinfecting Services. Every guide is checked against current CDC, EPA and Connecticut public health guidance and against the way our crews do the work, and updated when that guidance changes.
