Name: Paul
Role: Team Leader, Search Controller, Callout Officer and Police Liaison Officer
Joined SusSAR: May 2004
Employment
I currently work for Crawley Borough Council, Environmental Health
team, carrying out imported food and public health work at Gatwick
Airport. Previously I was an Emergency Planning Officer with East
Sussex County Council.
Background & Outdoor Experiences
From 1970 I was a police officer, retiring as a patrol inspector at
Crawley in July 2000. I wouldn't describe myself as a keen outdoorsman,
but I have always enjoyed walking in the country and cycling and,
as I get older, the more time I can spend being active the better!
Why I joined SusSAR
My Police experience made me very aware of the scarce resources available
to devote to missing person searches. Police officers have to be trained,
equipped and prepared to deal with a huge range of situations, whereas
we specialise in just one - urgent searching for vulnerable missing
people. At very short notice we can deploy trained, experienced volunteers,
fully equipped to search rough terrain, in all weathers, day or night.
When I was a police inspector, it would simply not have been possible
for me to deploy the sorts of resources and equipment which are now
available through SuSAR and our partner search teams. There is now
a much better chance of finding missing persons before harm befalls
them and the police are freed up to concentrate on those parts of
the enquiry that only they can do and all their other work, without
committing large numbers of officers to trudge through woods and fields.
Steps to become operational
I became aware of SuSAR from an article in 'Patrol', the Sussex Police
in-house magazine, describing their work. I had a chat with the chairman
and was invited down to one of the monthly training sessions, as this
was before the new member's evenings were introduced. Neither they
nor I were put off by this encounter and after attending a couple
more sessions I was accepted! Like all new members, regardless of
previous experience, I attended a Basic Search Technicians course
and qualified as a full member. It is important that everybody has
this training. I certainly learnt things which I hadn't known, even
after 30 years in the police, and it means that we all work to the
same system, essential for efficient searching. Subsequently I have
attended Team Leader and Search Controller courses.
The time commitment and what I've enjoyed
As Callout Officer, I carry a dedicated mobile phone 24/7. When a
callout comes it is my responsibility to text it out to the team as
soon as possible and contact other teams if required. I ensure that
we all know where and when to attend and the basic details of the
job. Supportive managers and colleagues have enabled me to drop what
I am doing when there is a callout and get the team mobilised. In
addition to the monthly training session I attend meetings with the
police and also participate in fund-raising activities and training
exercises. Overall I probably commit about 14 days a year to SuSAR.
The enjoyment comes from working with a great bunch of varied characters
who share a commitment to putting something very valuable back into
the community. There is also a great satisfaction in getting a result
by finding a missing person. Even when we have been, sadly, too late
to save the person, we know that we have given the family closure
by the recovery of their loved one and some comfort from the fact
that someone cared enough to go out and search for them.