Police/Public Safety Diving Training??

[_scuba_steve]

My brother is currently a police assistant while he is in school and thinking about going into the police academy after he graduates. He currently isn't a diver but is interested in getting involved with police/public safety diving.

Does one start out as a recreational diver and then later on receive special training or does one start out taking all their training as a police/public safety diver? If so, which agencies would be best to go through?

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

We work with a lot of PS Divers and teams, and I am of the absolute opinion that a PS Diver should first be a good, competent diver, then move on to PSD training.

We work with far too many individuals who started their basic scuba training right out of the box as a PS Diver, and speaking in broad, general terms, our experience has been that they never achieved competentcy in diving 101 before they added to the task loading with the Public Safety aspects.

And before the arrows start to fly, there is NOTHING they need to "unlearn", any and every bit of diver education has some value and helps complete the diver as a total package. If the individual lacks the ability to be able to shift gears and thinking between recreational, technical or PS diving, then perhaps they should not start down that path in the first place. Just because you do something 'different' in PSD mode doesn't make the practice 'wrong' in other forms of diving.

My two bits....

 

[theduckguru]

The requirements vary between departments, but getting off probation is the minimum and its likely he'll have to meet other minimum service requirements prior to appointment to special units.

Public employers first want to know if you want to be a cop and will be a good one. The diver assignments come later.

Diving training and experiance will at least be a bonus if not a requirement for inclusion in a dive team after employment.

In this economy, dive teams are not viewed as important budget items at many govt. agencies and full ride training opportunities are going to be very limited.

 

[_scuba_steve]

We work with a lot of PS Divers and teams, and I am of the absolute opinion that a PS Diver should first be a good, competent diver, then move on to PSD training.

We work with far too many individuals who started their basic scuba training right out of the box as a PS Diver, and speaking in broad, general terms, our experience has been that they never achieved competentcy in diving 101 before they added to the task loading with the Public Safety aspects.

And before the arrows start to fly, there is NOTHING they need to "unlearn", any and every bit of diver education has some value and helps complete the diver as a total package. If the individual lacks the ability to be able to shift gears and thinking between recreational, technical or PS diving, then perhaps they should not start down that path in the first place. Just because you do something 'different' in PSD mode doesn't make the practice 'wrong' in other forms of diving.

My two bits....

Thanks, clearing up that he wouldn't need to unlearn anything from rec diving helps a lot.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

You are very welcome, Steve. Just like in any other area of scuba, there are hundreds of myths that tend to hide the facts behind them, and the whole rec vs PSD arena is full of them.

The bottom line: If you are going to do anything in diving, then you should be a great diver first. Once you are there, then add complexity. But the physics, physiology, buoyancy, confidence and competence is universal to all aspects of diving. That's what makes a great diver, not the equipment they carry or brands they use, or even the number of dives they have. Some get it, sadly some don't.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

We work with a lot of PS Divers and teams, and I am of the absolute opinion that a PS Diver should first be a good, competent diver, then move on to PSD training.

We work with far too many individuals who started their basic scuba training right out of the box as a PS Diver, and speaking in broad, general terms, our experience has been that they never achieved competentcy in diving 101 before they added to the task loading with the Public Safety aspects.

And before the arrows start to fly, there is NOTHING they need to "unlearn", any and every bit of diver education has some value and helps complete the diver as a total package. If the individual lacks the ability to be able to shift gears and thinking between recreational, technical or PS diving, then perhaps they should not start down that path in the first place. Just because you do something 'different' in PSD mode doesn't make the practice 'wrong' in other forms of diving.

My two bits....

No arrows coming from this direction.

There are a lot of top notch public safety divers. But unfortunately, there are also divers who believe because they have taken a public safety diving course, they are qualified for all sorts of diving situations for which they have no training, including overhead environments.

I recently had a very disturbing conversation with a public safety diver who showed a dramatically cavalier attitude about safety.

The most important aspect to anything to do with diving is to perfect diving skills first --over-perfect them actually.

Jeff

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

We are in perfect sync here Jeff. Great to read your words!

 

[djb_1965]

Most teams that I know of, ours included, requires you to be advanced and rescue certified first, being in the water attached to a rope where you can't see past your mask, calls for some really good dive skills and the need to be very comfortable under water.

 

[200 Bar]

We send our dive team members to cavern then cave training if they wish to go....In my opinion, there are no better divers in the world for prep and buoyancy control...Most of our zero vis diving is brought on by ourselves....

 

[udtfire]

i think this is one of the most overlooked prevention in accidents at the psd level like a house build a good foundation first then decorate . a great diving foundation on the sport level is a must the trouble i see is a lot of psd divers dive 4 or 5 times a year and expects to rise to the ocassion the truth is you will fall to the level of your skill level. so yes basic first and i agree a cavern cave wreck and entry level psd should give you a respect for advanced level diving. as stated earlier so may who go from zero to hero in a week dont realize the true danger of the psd discipline would a fighter train for a week and take the fight of his life i thank not. sounds like your on the rite suggest you link up with indian scuba sounds like your close and are on the same page also in 2010 aug we at dive911.com are doing a psd fun trip to nassau for a week of war stories and good fun diving no classes just dive time. stay safe and remember its
courage through knowledge and skill through training one without the other is deadly