Paul Hurst's blog

Photographing a crime scene

THINGS TOOK AN UNEXPECTED TURN AT WORK FOR ME TODAY WHEN I ATTENDED THE SCENE OF A SUSPICIOUS DEATH FOR THE FIRST TIME.

After producing the Sunday Breakfast programme as normal, a call came through from Birmingham to ask if anyone had photographs from a suspicious death which had been reported in the area earlier in the morning.

I jumped in the car and headed off to a nearby hospital where the body of a man had been found in the grounds, reports suggest he had died after a gunshot to the head. I arrived pretty early on and managed to locate a policeman on scene and after introducing myself, I was shown to the scene along with a cameraman from TV news.

It's a strange experience to come so close to such a shocking event. To know that nearby, lies the body of someone who has died in suspicious or unknown circumstances. There's often very little to see and today was no exception, however I was able to photograph the general area for BBC News and was able also to just take a moment to ponder what I was seeing first-hand.

This is the closest I have ever been to a crime scene such as this, although I have come into contact with police investigations in the past, this one was different. This one had affected my world, it had unexpectedly taken up my time and attention, albeit in relatively meaningless way. How horrible it must be then for anyone whose lives are affected directly by events like these, how must they feel?

While the news cycle invariably goes on and as headlines come and go, I cannot help feeling that there are people who's lives will never be the same again from today, even if mine has returned to normal by the morning.