What's all this about?

[Linus]

Would anybody care to elaborate on this subject? Law Enforcement Diving means...what? It certainly gives a whole new meaning to catching bad fish to fry...

OK, that one was really lame but, come on and talk to me. I'm a SCUBA diver since last year (PADI Advanced Plus, going on Rescue Diver) and I would really appreciate to hear about different ways to dive professionally.

Like theese: å ä ö? It's Swedish.

------------------
Honestas supra omnis

[This message has been edited by Linus (edited 09-22-2000).]

[Mike]

Some SWAT have diving unit. Or for those police department with harbor units, they have diving units. Try to guess, that's all.

[Linus]

No, I mean it!

First of all I'm sorry for the immature attitude in my first post. I was really tired when I wrote and I didn't realize how stupid I would come across.

Having said that I will return to my questions. What should I expect of my work if I were to pursue a career as a LE diver, and what would be expected of me? I may sound like a babbling idiot to you but that's probably because, in this case, I am! I don't know much more than the first things as far as diving is concerned, and absolutely nothing about law enforcement issues. I'm a rookie, perhaps not even that.

And once you were one too.

------------------
Honestas supra omnis

[This message has been edited by Linus (edited 09-22-2000).]

[mdb23]

Linus

How about.....

searching for/recovering property, evidence, and people (or former people if you will) from bodies of water.

performing search and recovery missions (although this often handled by Fire and Rescue) for injured/stranded individuals.

Maritime Tactical Operations (if you are of the SWAT persuasion).

Time for work,

mdb23

[jw]

First off, I'm not a police diver. That being said, I would say your diving duties would consist mostly of body and evidence recovery jobs. Diving in black water; no visability. Tactile searches.

[bd]

Hi Linus,

Some SWAT teams do have diving units (Miami, Corpus Christi, etc). Evidence collection, surveillance, and recovering bodies is the typical mission. Do SWAT teams train divers in a maritime tactical role? Some do, yes.

Check out http://www.specialoperations.com/Domestic/SWAT/swatdiver.html for more information. It should answer most of your questions. If not, post them here.

Take care and be safe.

BD

[This message has been edited by bd (edited 09-25-2000).]

[dvpj]

Hey man
Try this website, it may have something to offer. i just knew about it (the site) I'm not familar with what role the LE divers play in FL, or else where.
www.policediver.com (http://www.policediver.com)

I think that's right, otherwise try law enforcement diving in a search engine.

[TacticalRifleBKH]

I would be happy to discuss the aspects of L/E diving with anyone who is interested, LE divers are all volunteer, and usually not paid any extra for the duty, If anyone ever tells you that Recovery Diving is cool, they are full of crap, there is nothing glamorous about Recovering a body that has been submerged for a long period of time....If I can answer any specific questions about qualifications, plese contact me, I say Recovery, because there is no such thing as a Rescue Diver, If a diver is called out it is cause someone is dead....Thanks....

------------------

[RAT]

AHHH Nothing like grabing a bloated body and the skin comming off on your hands.

Amazing how much puke can go through a regulator.

RAT OUT!!!

[dvpj]

Recovery work takes a special kind of person.
I did it for several years, and with an explanation, enjoyed the work.

I am a challenge oriented type of guy;so, I saw each job as a challenge that someone else failed at. I worked for the NTSB's and Navy SUPSALV's contractor, and no two jobs were the same in any manner at all. We did alot of real tragic work, but it was the goal that kept us going. Find the cause of the mishap, and do what I/we can to lend to the search for the causes correction. Some were prety easy, the tail is sticking out of the water, others needed ROV intervention to get 7000' deep.
We were paid fairly well, but it was still a tough job to do. There is no type of training to prepare you for the sights and smells of an aircraft debris field. And, from time to time we swallowed pretty hard. Children are the worst.

I can ramble on for ever.

Recovery work is not a glamour job, by any description at all.

[bd]

Yep RAT,

Always hated doing recovery dives. Went on one once where the guy was down for 7 days before our team was called. It was in a power plant lake so the water was a warm 80 F. Had a cadaver dog out too. Only thing you could see in the water was your mask. Bad. Eventually the guy floated after 10 days. Was an ugly sight.

BD

[Linus]

Thanks for your replies, guys.

But what does a "typical" day at work look like, or a week? What has happened when you rub your hands in anticipation on your way to a certain assignment? What makes you moan "Not another one of those, man!" because you're bored shitless from doing the same thing again and what makes you pray in silence that you will never, ever, have to go through it one more time? What makes you say you love your job and what makes you wish you'd stayed in bed?

I LIKE zero visibility, I LIKE tactile search and I LOVE search/recovery. I throw in stuff from bridges or dump them over the side of the boat just for the fun of searching for it! And I learned to dive in Sweden in the winter so cold water is no problemo. So naturally the idea of doing all this for a living intrigues me. And then BD tells me some SWAT teams have diving units. Man, do I want to be in on that or what...

Linus

------------------
Honestas supra omnis

[This message has been edited by Linus (edited 11-12-2000).]