TSAC talks – Northwest Police Underwater Search Unit
March seems to have been a good one for social events and the final one was by far and away the best. PC Liz Smith had volunteered to talk to the club about the what it is really like to be a diver in the North West Police Underwater Search & Marine Unit.
It quickly became obvious that she loves the job and this was true throughout the whole of the talk. I had suggested a 45 minute talk but an hour an half later we were still enthralled and questions were coming thick and fast.
Liz introduced herself and began by giving us a history of the team and how it had developed over time to the point where 10 team members covered a hug NW area, including the 12 mile international limit. The idea that this team was started in the 1950s and the techniques developed then are still used today (as they have proved to be the effective) was quite stunning. We were expecting to be told about high tech equipment and new updated techniques.
Liz then went into details about where they search. This surprised us as they are used in dry forensic searches due to the dry suits and equipment allowing for little site contamination. The description and photos of where they have searched soon removed any thoughts of this being a glamorous job. The idea of crawling through swamps, canals down tunnels and through drains with zero visibility quickly made us aware of the amazing strength of character and professionalism of this group. She described how they use different search patterns and crawl along using finger tip searches through all the detritus left at the bottom of canals.
From there she introduced us to the equipment they use and how they clip in and clip out, always have a land line connected and the communication techniques, three tugs on the line – turn left, four long tugs on the line – come up.
They do have some high tech equipment in the form of sonars and ROVs for deep water searches and these have their uses but it seems the personal touch is the most effective. She described the list of jobs from finding cars (follow the line of the tyre tracks into the pond) to finding guns, mobile phones and a ring. One story of the search on a cold winters day for a mobile phone in a canal, her growing frustration as she resurfaced over and over again with a phone, only for the CID officer to say ‘No not this one’ had us smiling but glad we only dived for fun.
Add to all this a few cases and a few anecdotes and we had the finish of a fantastically interesting and engaging talk.
Finally we were able to look at some of the equipment she brought along. It is very similar but the subtle differences highlight the type of environments they work in.
It was also great to welcome and share the evening with members of HSAC and Bolton Area Divers.
