NCJ Number
223319
Journal
Police: The Law Enforcement Magazine Volume: 29 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2005 Pages: 26-29
Date Published
May 2005
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article briefly outlines the necessary steps in the successful planning, development, and implementation of a police scuba-equipped dive team.
Abstract
Nearly 75 percent of the Earth is covered by water with most the population centrally located close to the water. All sorts of things occur or take place in bodies of water, some the result of criminal actions and some by accident. Many require a police response in order to recover evidence or further an investigation. This requires personnel specifically trained and equipped for such a duty: a dive team. This article provides the steps necessary in improving an agency’s ability to conduct many of these investigations. It begins with an assessment of a police agency’s need for a police dive team, followed by determination of jurisdiction responsibility, multiple-agency planning (to defray the cost and limit resource drainage), funding allocation, and equipment acquisition and trained dive team members. The article concludes with emphasis on the importance of setting polices and procedures.