FAO (First Attending Officer)
If it can be proven that a crime has taken place the next step is to pass this onto the police who will send a patrol car to the scene, this will consist of the FAO (first attending officer) this is the police officer that will be first on the scene and will deal with most of the incident at the scene. FAO's deal with different scenarios each day so there roles will vary due to this, they deal with any victims/ suspects at the crime scene as well as the scene itself. The FAO will firstly check if anyone is present at the scene, and if any specialist departments are needed for example (paramedics, bomb squad, fire department and many more). The FAO is involved in every investigation as they are the next step after the call operator, other roles of the FAO are to cordon of the scene, prevent any contamination with evidence, set out a common approach path after exploring the scene for exit and entry points and collect any vital information of witnesses this can be what they have seen or there details for an interview/ in case more contact is needed. These are all vital steps to have within any investigation as it ensures that no evidence is contaminated so it all can be used within the court of law, the common approach path gives anyone entering the scene a path to stick to which ensures none of the evidence can be contaminated by them this path can be used by anyone needed at the scene being paramedics, SOCO's and more. The roles of the FAO may vary if there isn't a crime scene known to the police, for example in a missing child's case if it is reported to the police that a child has gone missing they may send a patrol car consisting of the FAO straight to the family. This is due to no crime scene needing to be cordoned off although; the last seeing of the child may be used as a crime scene. As the FAO is the first on the scene this means they have control over all evidence and the scene itself until it is taken over by the detectives, they have to ensure that all crucial evidence is safe and nothing can prevent it from being safe. After the FAO has completed their outstanding jobs at the scene there next step will be to cooperate with the police in order to find the suspect, gathering all information and details on the case to lead to the correct prosecution.
The role of the FAO within the Soham Murders
Within this case the FAO arrived at the home where the girls were last seen, here the FAO took witness statements of both family and friends that were present at the property when the children went missing. Due to this being a high profiled case both Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Humberside Police joined forces to attempt to find the girls, a main reason both police forces joined was because Cambridgeshire Constabulary where accused of not carrying out there investigation correctly. Cambridgeshire Constabulary only appointed one Chief Officer within the investigation which Humberside Police didn’t agree with due to the two young girls life’s being at risk. After the FAO collected witness statements from the individuals located at the home where the last two children were last seen there next protocol was to alert the Chief Officer so a search party could be gathered. Within a different type of investigation the FAO would hold a different role, if there had been a stabbing and the primary crime scene was known to the police this would be where the FAO would carry out their procedures, this consists of cordoning off the scene and examining the scene for suspects etc. Due to the primary scene not being known to the police within the Soham Murders the most important place for the FAO to be was were the girls were last seen.