“As a prosecutor, I have visited countless crime scenes, including murder scenes, where the violence and brutality of the crime was illustrated by the amount of bloodshed and debris left behind,” Morrison said. “The burden of crime scene cleanup greatly contributes to the amount of stress that a crime causes and I believe that my office can help ease this burden for victim’s families.”
House Bill 2318 expands the definition of “allowance expense” in K.S.A. 74-7301(a) to include an allowance up to $1000 for crime scene cleanup. This bill also provides a definition of crime scene cleanup as “the removal of blood, stains, odors or other debris caused by the crime or the processing of the crime scene.”
“House Bill 2318 would enable us to better assist the innocent victims of violent crime in this state,” Morrison said.
Thirty-three states presently provide compensation for crime scene cleanup. The fiscal impact has been very insignificant, and generally comprises about one-half of one percent of the total awards granted.