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There are no hard and fast rules concerning the location of the search base. There are many considerations before deciding upon the positioning of the ‘centre of operations’.

Careful thought processes must occur before the final decision is taken to locate the control point. If necessary there is no reason why the search base cannot be re-positioned during the operation. However, any decision to move base must be carefully weighed up against the disadvantages of interrupting the progress of the search itself.

Before deciding upon the location of the control point there are many considerations which include:

It is not uncommon for the search base or control vehicle to be based at the Point Last Seen (PLS) or Last Known Position (LKP). This may well be the subject’s home address.

This is a sensible and logical position to locate the search base, which will then be known as the Incident Control Point (ICP). However, although the control vehicle may be self-sufficient and entirely capable of running the operation the points already mentioned must be considered. There is little point in the ICP being at a location if, for example, there is insufficient space for staging of resources, briefing etc.

Communications

The ICP must have communication capability with the searchers. The possibility of radio blackspots must be considered and if necessary move the search base. All search operations must have effective and reliable communications.

Power Facilities

Whilst a search control vehicle may well be fitted with a portable generator to provide limited electrical power it will probably be insufficient for all but the most basic of functions. As a search expands, so too will the power requirements.

Rest Area

Many searchers will be involved working long hours in arduous conditions. An area which can be set aside solely for rest purposes is desirable.

Feeding and Refreshment

This is the most basic of requirements. A short search will probably be accommodated by the provision of sandwiches or take away food purchased locally. An expanded search will require much more thought and may involve the use of mobile canteen facilities or similar. Whilst some of these may be self-sufficient in some respects they may still require running water, drainage and extra power. If possible a purpose built kitchen would be preferable. A feeding area can be separate to the ICP or search base but this would require additional transportation considerations. Also the time to travel between the ICP, search area and feeding facilities would need to be taken into account in the overall plan.

Toilet Facilities

This is a basic bodily function which cannot be ignored. If an ICP is set up in an isolated location temporary toilets such as portaloos will have to be hired if facilities cannot be found nearby.

Staging Area

Large numbers of searchers, Police, volunteers, dogs etc will need to come to the ICP for briefing, provision of communications and similar. They will need to be able to park their vehicles nearby. If the whole incident is controlled from the ICP we may need to set up other facilities such as a mobile canteen, toilets, press area.

Is it a Crime?

Don’t ever rule out that the search you are embarking upon may well be a result of a crime. The vast majority are not and the circumstances will probably rule this out very early on. There is the very real danger that should the ICP be set up at, for example the PLS or H/A of the subject then we may well end up trampling or destroying evidence. If in doubt, err on the side of safety and set up at a different location.

Options for Search Base

Having discussed and listed the potential requirements of the search base or ICP we now need to consider what to do to give us the best possible facility with which to conduct the search. The importance of a suitable facility cannot be underestimated. A lot of time and effort can be saved by the search manager/overhead team if the search base is suitable for the job.

The most obvious option has got to be a local village or community hall. This is the option most often embarked upon when the control vehicle at the PLS is not acceptable. The village hall will have plenty of parking, toilet facilities, separate areas which can be designated for rest, eating and management. Some arrangements will have to be made with the owners and there may be a cost implication. Remember, though, cost should not really come into it, after all we are responding to an emergency. If we were utilising a village hall as a result of a major incident such as flooding/fire/evacuation the question of cost will not even arise. Nor should it be for an emergency search where lives are at risk.

Most local authorities and Police have joint emergency and contingency plans and these will include areas that have been recognised as being able to provide rest and feeding areas. It will always be worth contacting the local emergency/contingency planning officer either within the police service or the local authority.

Search Base Equipment

Aside from facilities such as feeding and toilet etc the actual ICP itself will require certain equipment in order to ensure the job can be managed effectively and the decision making process recorded.

Maps

Suitable mapping facilities are essential. OS maps are acceptable but the police now have GIS mapping facilities which can be scaled to the requirements of the current job. Any map needs to be of a suitable scale and this is where the advantage of GIS come in. Any scale can be printed, down to house level, if necessary. For a rural search considerable detail is desirable, to field detail if possible. GIS can do this, OS struggles and the red map books available for towns are totally unacceptable.

Where possible a combination of GIS and aerial photography is ideal. This will give the searchers a much better visual perception of what is required. This sometimes takes time to arrange but with the relevant IT facilities such imagery can be available immediately. This IT capability will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter.

Whiteboard

A whiteboard displayed in a prominent location within the ICP will provide an instant visual facility to all searchers. Care should be taken to ensure the press do not have access to the board. One can imagine an innocent descriptive comment such as ‘fat’ or ‘scruffy’ or ‘mentally disabled’ being broadcast by the media during a news item. Such unintentional distress to relatives must be avoided.

This above gives some idea as to what may be written on the ICP notice board. At briefing times team leaders will get most of the information they require from this. Also, the search manager will be able to use the boards to set out his operational periods and resource requirements.

Data/Handbooks

As we will be using a method of searching which involves the behaviour analysis of a subject and the databases of previous cases it would be useful to ensure such information is readily at hand. It is suggested that all trained search managers should prepare a search kit bag which contains all the necessary information and equipment. This bag would include maps, handbooks, laminate overlays, stationery, documentation etc. Full lists will be found in the pre-plan.

Documentation

Reasons for documentation will be discussed in detail later, suffice to say at this time that everything decided upon must be well documented. Therefore, a full set of relevant documentation should be available to the search manager. This will include the initial lost person questionnaire, search urgency chart, consensus worksheets, policy decision book and incident log progress book.

Stationery

The usual equipment for an office will be required….pens, pencils, stapler, files, plastic A4 sleeves, binders, permanent marker pens, whiteboard markers etc.

IT Facilities

The many advantages of computers will be obvious to all. There are some difficulties involved in using computers at the location of a search. The first thing to be said is that they are not essential. A very competent search can be undertaken and documented without any IT facilities whatsoever. New software is becoming increasingly available in which all search matters can be recorded on databases. The software includes an automatic update to the databases we will be using on all searches. This would ultimately lead to far greater accuracy in those databases. However, there are serious cost implications as well as training requirements.

One common area they can assist in with tremendous benefits are in the provision of digital imagery and mapping facilities. Take the example of an urgent search in a rural location. There are limited maps available and the searchers cannot be briefed properly as they are unable to visualise their search area. If the search manager was in possession of a laptop computer with simple and inexpensive digital photographic reading software and hardware then it would be conceivable to obtain full aerial photographs within minutes from, say the police helicopter. The helicopter would simply need to find a suitable location to land and their photographic memory card could download the images to the laptop immediately. Real time photographs detailing current conditions could be made available immediately. Taking this one step further, should the laptop have a small portable printer the images could also be printed.

A suitable laptop and mobile phone may also enable the search manager to access the police GIS mapping system. The opportunities are endless and may prove too irresistible to do without in the future.

Communications

Rescue groups will have their own communications facilities and capabilities. Police resources will have their own. It is essential that there is the liaison to ensure an integrated and seamless system for all groups to talk to each other. Some areas may well be in unavoidable radio blackspots. If this is found to be so it is important that the search manager is aware and can organise some other means of contact, such as regular ‘runners’ or returns to the ICP.

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