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Volunteers Search and Rescue Unit Teams Up With
Merseyside Police
MERSEYSIDE Police have joined forces with a group of
highly trained volunteers to improve its search and rescue capability. A
team of teachers, doctors, paramedics, and other professions have formed
Merseyside Search and Rescue (MerSAR) to become the 36th such unit in the
country. The initiative was officially launched last night, in Royden Park, in
the Frankby, area of Wirral and was attended by members of MerSAR and Merseyside
Police. The MerSAR Unit will specialise in lowland search and rescue operations
such as when people go missing and large expanses of woodland, coastline, or
industrial wasteland need to be urgently searched.
The 22 volunteers will be on call so that search experts in the Police can call
on them for help when needed. A Police Officer trained as a Police Search
Advisor (PolSA) will co-ordinate efforts by the MerSAR Unit and those of Police
Ifficers to find missing people. The Unit will also be able to assist other
emergency services such as the Fire Service in helping to rescue people who
might be stranded on a beach or waterway, or trapped in their home following
flooding. Members have been trained by the national governing body; Association
of Lowland Search and Rescue (ALSAR); in a variety of essential skills
including:- First Aid, navigation and search methods. MerSAR will operate as a
charity meaning that it will be holding a number of fundraising events
throughout Merseyside later this year.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Critchley from Merseyside Police said:- "The
Merseyside Search and Rescue unit will be of great benefit to the Merseyside
public and our force. To have a team of dedicated and highly trained people to
help us search for vulnerable missing people will give us the best possible
chance of finding many of them before they come to any harm. It is testament to
the community spirit of the volunteers that they are prepared to give up their
precious free time at a moments notice to help others, often in difficult
conditions. I would like to thank the Matrix Officers within our force for the
hard work they have done alongside MerSAR to enable the unit to go live this
week. We are all looking forward to working together in the future to help save
lives."
Sergeant Gareth Hughes, a trained PolSA, said he was looking forward to working
alongside the team having been involved in setting the joint initiative up. He
said:- "Merseyside Search & Rescue have spent a considerable amount of
time and effort in the last few years to be in a position today where they can
go live. They will be a huge asset in assisting us in searching for some of the
most vulnerable missing people we deal with and I would like to welcome them to
the search and rescue community of Merseyside."
Martin Blakeborough, chairman of MerSAR added:- "It is through the hard
work and efforts of all team members, having completed all training
requirements, that Merseyside Police have now endorsed us as a live team. There
is still a lot of hard work and training to be undertaken but we are looking
forward to building a positive and professional relationship with Merseyside
Police that will ultimately help vulnerable or needy people on Merseyside. Many
thanks to all involved for having the confidence to allow us to make a
difference."
The team will have access to a small boat to assist in water rescues and also a
Land Rover Discovery donated to the charity by Jaguar Land Rover, which is
fitted with a winch, roof rack, spotlights and other equipment. For more
information visit the MerSAR
website and the national governing
body
website. |
