RT Article
T1 Training police search and rescue teams: Implications for missing persons work
JF Criminology & criminal justice
VO 23
IS 3
SP 431
OP 449
A1 Ferguson, Lorna
A2 Gaub, Janne E.
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1852221283
AB Police search and rescue teams are crucial players in resolving missing person cases. Resultantly, police employ a host of training for search and rescue members in collaboration with institutions, organizations, and groups. Such training, however, has not been studied. This warrants attention as, in a time of police legitimacy crises and austerity policing, appropriate and quality police training for effective, efficient practices is imperative. Therefore, we examined the training needs and offerings for police search and rescue personnel, and their impact on search and rescue operations and work, through thematic analysis of interviews with 52 police search and rescue members from 17 agencies across Canada. Findings suggest there are no homogeneous, structured, or standardized training offerings for police search and rescue personnel. Instead, training varies within and across agencies and regions, and between officers and roles, as it is commonly based upon anecdotal experiences and in-house developed “best practices.” We discuss the implications of these findings for police search and rescue operations and work.
K1 specialty unit
K1 Qualitative Research
K1 Policing
K1 Police Training
K1 police search and rescue
K1 Missing persons
DO 10.1177/17488958211057380