32 1.3
ELEMENT 1.1 ELEMENT 1.3 ELEMENT 1.2 ELEMENT 1.4 ELEMENT 1.5 Pre-investigation actions The initial steps to take following an incident, but before an investigation begins, are to:
y
establish emergency response, such as first aid, and ensure the scene is safe;
y
preserve the scene.
When making the scene safe it is important that you always assess your own safety and that of others. There can be a conflict
between making the scene safe and preserving it. However, in these cases the safety objective will always win.
The other initial steps that you must take are to:
y
gather witness contact details for interviews;
y
take note of any environmental conditions that may be relevant, such as icy ground or high winds;
y
gather information on any equipment involved in the incident; and
y
decide whether the incident will be reportable under local legislation, for example, RIDDOR (which was discussed earlier
in this book). If it is reportable, the relevant authority must be notified within the timeframes set out in country-specific
legislation.
How soon an investigation should start will depend on the level of risk involved - in general, as soon as possible. Where
witnesses are to be interviewed, this should happen as quickly as possible to ensure witnesses do not have an opportunity to
forget elements that could be relevant to the investigation. However, it must be noted that traumatised witnesses might just be
asked for an initial account of their observations and may need to be handled with sympathy.
The four-stage investigation process ACTIVITY Before we look at this section, what sort of evidence do you think you would gather for an incident
investigation? Note down your ideas and we will revisit this list at the end of this section.
