URL for PSD definition?

[leam]

So I'm trying to explain PSD work to a dive friend and I think "Gosh, I bet there's a great web page for it, with pictures!"

Wrong again...the only real reference seems to be Police Divers who, though good in their own right, aren't the sum total of Public Safety.

Any of you representatives of three, four, and five letter acronyms want to take a stab at this? Wikipedia would be a great place, through I'm sure everyone should have their own page on their organization's site.

Thoughts?

Leam

 

[Gary D.]

I think one way to describe PSD comes from what Siegfried & Roy did or still do.

You can play with tigers and do everything right but someday it just may jump up and bite you when you least expect it.

PSD is a very dangerous activity as is playing with tigers. You can do everything right but someday it just may jump up and bite you when you least expect it.

 

[CCTX50]

The following was written by Cpl. Bob Teather RCMP (Retired) in 1991 (Rest in Peace):

Public Safety Divers are human, believe it or not – just like the rest of us. They come in various sizes and shapes and speak with as many accents and languages as there are lakes and rivers.

Public Safety Divers are found everywhere; in large cities, rural communities and at most departmental budget meetings. The best way to get one is pick up the telephone.

Public Safety Divers deliver lectures, diving equipment and bad news. They're expected to have the wisdom of King Solomon, the abilities of Superman and the generosity of Santa Claus.

In the movies, Public Safety Divers are easy to spot. You see them hanging from helicopters and cliffs over some treacherous waterfall or rescue scene. In real life, they're found hanging around near a telephone – even on Sundays, cause that's when it usually rings … just after company has arrived and the barbecue has been lit.

Public Safety Divers are a lot of things. When they make a rescue, they're heroes. when they complete a body recovery, they're too late! When they're paid for their work, they're doing it for the money … anybody can see that! and when they're volunteers, they're crazy cause what person in their right mind would volunteer to do a job like that anyway?

Public Safety Divers see more sunrises, sunsets, lakes, rivers, swamps, cesspools and misery than anyone else. Like the mailman, they must be out in all kinds of weather. Their rubber suits change color and materials with the seasons, but their outlook on life remains the same … trying our best and hoping for the day we can make a difference.

Public Safety Divers like hot coffee on cold missions. They also like friendship, laughter and a hearty handshake. They dislike liquor in boats, children without personal flotation devices and drunks that drive their cars into the water.

Public Safety Divers get medals for saving lives, recovering children from icy waters and diving in hazardous conditions. Sometimes their widow gets the medal.

But, after all the sunrises and sunsets, the lakes and the cesspools, the training and the 4:00 a.m. call-outs, once in a while the most rewarding moment comes when the mission is over and out of the crowd a stranger walks up, embraces the Diver and whispers a heart-felt God bless you, and thank you, you have helped.

 

[ditch-diver]

A "task bank' for our dive program was done up a couple years ago, looking into the program and what the members experience and the report concluded with ...

"... There is a frequent and sometimes extended exposure to danger/threats to safety (e.g.,explosives, contaminated water -- bio-hazards, risk of dehydration, inclement and changing weather). The elements of these scenes can be quite horrifying and disturbing (e.g., dismembered bodies, decomposed bodies, bloated and discoloured bodies of drowning victims, dead children, mass disaster deaths, and deceased police officers).

Further, divers must handle and examine body parts and other repugnant material. Additional stress and fatigue is created by trying to balance dive team duties with regular duties, working extensive on-call, stand-by and overtime (voluntary and compensated) hours, and being exposed to grieving family members, media, and affected police officers. There is a perception of redundancy in paperwork, a lack of support by management, a lack of career mobility, and pressure to succeed."

 

[Mphill9929]

To define a PSD you need to break down what a PSD does. This is actually a question and discussion topic in some of the classes I teach. (One thing you will find interesting is the history of the term itself.) The challenge is simple - As a diver, what do you to that provides for the safety of the public?


Mark Phillips
Editor / Publisher
PSDiver Monthly
PSDiver.com

 

[ditch-diver]

Truth be told, we never use the term PSD. In our situation it is "police diver" because we are all police officers and if it ain't police related we are not involved.