The comment made by Brian Johnson on the Inland Flood Rescue Association post started me thinking. He noted that “someone had to take charge and put all of the teams into some useful context.”
This lead me to thinking about SAR teams without a role…
Johnnie Walker commented that T24 “do not provide the services they claim, and take charitable money away from the ‘real’ SAR groups operating in county: SusSAR and Lowland Search Dogs Sussex. Have they been involved in Searches and/or Rescues in Sussex? No. Do Sussex Police use them for the search and subsequent rescue of vulnerable missing people? No. Did they discuss county requirements with the Police or other agencies before setting up? No” whilst Kris Manning noted that the STAR Team had had “lots of training exercises but as far as I can see not a single callout since 2007.”
Businesses starting up need to do their market research; not only does there need to be a NEED, but the company needs to be able to actually break into the market and sell their product or service. Failing to do this market research means a business goes bust.
SAR charities are different though. They do not require either a need or a market to set-up. All they need is the perception of having both and they can collect money and “play” at SAR.
Not so, of course, in the mainstream SAR world [for want of a better term] – ALSAR, for instance, requires a letter from the local police stating they need and will use the search services of the local team before they can become operational. (This has actually stopped one team from becoming an ALSAR team!)
I’m not suggesting that any particular SAR team is not being utilised or is somehow cheating charitable donations, but I do wonder how many SAR teams are out there that don’t have a role…
This is very true. However, there have been times where the local culture needs to be changed and this can only take place over a period of time. If a county area has not had a team before then a culture change can sometimes be a time in the making. If one avenue is closed then a slight diverisification is required. Often the police want to see a team up and running before pledging support. There is such a thing as team typing and you would need to be equipped, training and operating in a community role before you could be typed. I think it is very much akin to the chicken and egg syndrome. This does not excuse teams that set up to play SAR and never really look for approval from ALSAR and their local REsiliance forum. As a new team boss I can sympathise but also see it from the other side too!
A similar thing happened on the Isle of Wight during the recent snow when a man appearred on BBC’s Inside Out claiming to be Search and Rescue. He did not appear to be part of any official organisation and is certainly not part of Hampshire Search and Rescue, however he was free to drive around in his pimped up land rover with Search and Rescue written all over it. I don’t wish to take away the fact the he helped several people although it appeared staged for the camera’s the error on his part was claiming to be a Search and Rescue asset.
We have had several similar incidents:
At Beachy Head, when a guy whose wife had died there started interventions and cliff rescues. The local paper took up this individual’s cause, painting the Beachy head Chaplaincy Team and the Coastguard Cliff Rescue Team as ‘dog in a manger’ types trying to stop him saving life.
We also had a guy try and join us with a fully kitted out 4×4 marked up as search and rescue with blue flashing lights on top. Members of Sussex Police mistook it for a Police vehicle! Naturally we didn’t entertain him for long, but it shows the risks of Search and Rescue not being a defended description. I know Adrian and ALSAR are very aware fo this risk and are exploring options.
Finally, another fantasist sent an ambulance away from an RTC they had been called to, claiming he was SusSAR and was handling it. He was nothing to do with us, and never had been.
I can fully understand where you guys are coming from. I have seen “blue light chasers” in the past. I also understand the damage they can do to a teams reputation.
Our team has a strict policy about recruitment and initial training, and new people are kept well clear of team training until they have proven themsleves at a classroom level and has followed our induction programme, and in fact signed a behaviour contract. If they breach the contract they can removed from the team without further notice.
Other steps you can take to stop BLC’s causing problems is to register all vehicles used by your teams. Only these vehicles should ever be used. If you lodge this record with your police partners then you are covered!
In summary, recruit carefully, induct fully, and record everything totally, keep your partners fully informed, and you can’t go wrong!