Speaking to the First Attending Officer
When the Scenes of Crime Officer (SOCO) arrives at the scene it is important they speak to the First Attending Officer (FAO), this is due to the FAO being the first to attend the crime scene. As they are the first to attend the crime scene they have an important role to play, there three main jobs upon arrival is; preserve life, preserve the scene and also secure the evidence. By the SOCO reporting to the FAO they are able to gain more knowledge of the scene which is an advantage when trying to understand the crime that has been committed. The FAO will identify to the SOCO the crime that has occurred and also give them an insight of the beneficial pieces of evidence that needs to be collected, the FAO will also state to the SOCO if any vulnerable pieces of evidence have already been collected from the scene which will occur if there is a risk of evidence being destroyed. By the SOCO then having an understanding of the crime and also the beneficial pieces of evidence located at the scene this will contribute to valid evidence collection as they will only collect the necessary evidence that can be linked to the crime, it will also ensure no evidence is overlooked.
Speaking to the First Attending Officer within the Soham Murders
Within the Soham Murders there was no crime scene as it was a missing children's case, this meant that when the police had been phones the first attending officer reported to the home where the girls where last seen. The first attending officer then worked with the families of the missing children to gain an insight of what had happened and what occurred in there last seen sighting of the girls the first attending officer collected witness statements of both the friend and family that where at the Wells home on the day of the disappearance. The first attending officer looked for any evidence that would be beneficial to the case, the computer was seized as this was what the children where using before they left the home.