There is a huge variety of crucial police work going on both
beneath and above the surface of the region's lakes, canals, rivers
and coastline.
Diving to depths of up to 50m searching for missing people,
weapons, stolen goods and submerged vehicles is the day to day work
of the North West Regional Underwater Search and Marine Unit.
Covering the largest area of any police dive team in the UK, the
12 members of the Unit can be called out to search anywhere between
North Wales and the Scottish border. An Inspector, Sergeant, eleven
constables and one technician make up the team.
Based in Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside the officers are
well placed to handle incidents in any of the six force areas -
Cheshire, North Wales, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire
and Cumbria.
What the unit does
Each of the 12 divers has undergone an eight-week intensive dive
course and they are all trained to the highest professional
standards. Members of the team are also qualified for marine
operations involving the use of the units launch and rigid
inflatable boats, for example the launch of H.M.S Astute and
maritime security patrols.
A typical dive involves little or nil visibility underwater and
a systematic search technique is used to ensure the area is
searched thoroughly (items as small as .22 ammunition have been
recovered) .Night time is no problem as the unit is fully equipped
with lighting, generators etc, and the unit has lots of experience
in accessing difficult terrain and obstacles such as weirs, tunnels
etc.
Unit members are also qualified to enter confined spaces and
have all the equipment required including gas detection, breathing
apparatus and protective equipment. The unit will also recover
badly decomposed bodies from land or property which are deemed too
hazardous for officers at scene or undertakers to recover.
The unit has two fully equipped specialist large goods vehicles,
two 4x4 off road vehicles, a 42ft launch, two rigid inflatable
boats, a survey vessel and several small inflatable boats.
Specialist equipment
Sonar
The unit makes use of Sonar technology. One way the Underwater
Search team can see what is beneath the surface of the water is
with the use of Sonar .Sonar emits sound and as the sound waves hit
objects in the water they are reflected back and then interpreted
as high resolution images on computers. Sonar can be used for
searching for sunken vehicles, boats or even a body.
R.O.V (Remotely Operated Vehicle)
The R.O.V is a small submersible that is operated from shore or
boat. It is equipped with video cameras & lights. The R.O.V is
operated using joysticks and monitors & displays live video to
the operator which can be recorded for evidential reasons. The
R.O.V can dive to depths of 150m and has been used to recover
items/bodies from places too dangerous for divers to operate
in.
Why the Unit is needed
- The unit is available to attend incidents 24/7 365 days
anywhere within the region, there is no cost to requesting
departments/divisions and requests do not have to be for major
crime.
- The unit has been established since 1978 and has a vast amount
of experience in search and recovery operations as well as all
maritime matters, and can advise you if required.
- The team's remit is to search areas other police teams cannot
reach. This includes lakes, rivers, marshlands, ponds, canals,
sewage drains and the sea including up to 12 miles off shore.