Public safety divers are people who work in law enforcement, search and rescue, or both. There are a few things that distinguish public safety divers from recreational divers: their training, dive locations and dates as well as their special equipment. Public safety divers are responsible for protecting the environment and the lives of others on the surface. A public safety diver is also equipped for law enforcement and all the tasks that it involves.
Training requirements
Public safety divers must complete several training courses. The first phase of the course involves knowledge development in a classroom environment. Students will be taught about the different methods of conducting searches and solving missions. Students will also learn about the different equipment required to conduct such missions. The second phase is comprised of multiple dives. This allows students to practice their search, recovery, and search skills in controlled settings. Public safety divers that want to work in dangerous or contaminated waters will benefit from these courses.
ERDI is the simplest of all public safety diver training programs. It has been approved for training by OSHA, STATE, NFPA. The next course is ERDI Level II, which covers advanced techniques of emergency response diving. It also includes the use full face masks and dry suits. After the training, you will receive your ERDI certification card. A certified ERDI instructor will be able to certify you.
Role of public safety divers in law enforcement
The role of public safety divers in law enforcement is not to be underestimated. These divers often work undercover and can encounter criminals as well. These professionals are not to belittle police officers or investigators. However, both these roles are important. Law enforcement operations can only succeed if both divers and investigators play a critical role.
While LEOs may use dive teams in some cases to respond to water-related crimes, in most cases they can also respond to land-related incidents. The divers will usually be transported in small boats or patrol vehicles and then change to scuba gear when they reach the water's edge. LEOs, investigators and police radio operators communicate using spoken codes during land-based investigations. These codes can be defeated underwater. Divers will learn American Sign Language to communicate with investigators.
Gear is required
Divers using public safety gear have access to many different types of safety gear. Some are provided by the government, others must supply their own. Ideally, all divers should be geared up in the same way, which makes zero visibility environments easier to manage and streamline maintenance. A full face mask is essential gear. Public safety divers generally dive in contaminated water or around submerged bodies or vehicles. Either way, the gear's quality is important.
PSD courses combine elements from several diving specialties. These include advanced diving, rescue dives and master diving. Divers can also learn technical skills, nitrox and how to help in recovery and salvage operations. PSD divers might also need to be trained for other types of diving in a more specialized environment. These divers might be asked to perform rescue and search missions under conditions not experienced by a professional diver.