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This chapter will discuss issues relating to:

Legal Issues

The bad news is that lots of litigation is attempted.

The better news is that only a few get to court.

The good news is that, to date, most plaintiffs don’t win.

The basic question that needs to be asked is whether the police or any other government agency can be held liable for injury or death by its failure to respond to search and rescue incidents quickly and effectively.

Also, can a non-paid search and rescue group be held liable in similar circumstances?

What effect does the European Convention on Human Rights Act have on the responsibility of the police or other public authorities have to protect the right to life?

The public and the courts expect professionals, paid or otherwise, to use the highest standards. The search and rescue network is thought to have a deep pocket and the increasing charge of the ‘blame’ and ‘compensation’ culture is upon us, unfortunately.

We must also bear in mind we are very self-critical. We encourage full documentation and critical debriefs. Mistakes are therefore well documented and all search documentation will be disclosable in a court of enquiry.

Also consider the following:

Anthony Rich, TD, MA, is the honourary legal advisor to the Mountain Rescue Council (MRC).

He has stated that there is no general duty of care to go to the aid of someone in distress (unless you were responsible for putting them there). The courts will only find a duty of care when it is reasonable and fair to do so. In many recent cases the courts have refused to impose liability on rescuers.

The law has never been tested specifically in search and rescue operations but it seems unlikely that a claim could be mounted against a rescue team or its manager for failing to respond to a call for help or for allegedly misconducting a search.

However, when a subject has been found it appears the welfare for the person has been accepted and therefore a duty of care would seem to exist.

Duty of Care

Even if a duty of care can be shown to exist it has to be shown that it may have been breached and also that the breach has actually worsened the situation.

It is Anthony Rich’s conclusion that, contrary to rumour, it would be very difficult if not impossible to successfully pursue claims against a rescuer except where they have done something so blatantly neglectful that the victim has been left worse off.

The civil law is really about deciding who is to bear the risk of things going wrong. For this reason, although it appears it would be very difficult to claim against a volunteer rescue group, it would be prudent to insure against something that goes dramatically wrong.

Within England and Wales there is block liability insurance so the insurer meets any liability against the rescuer for any groups assisting the police in search operations. This insurance covers death and injury.

Urban Searches

Urban searches can be classed as either”

Suburban

Pure urban

Or a mixture of both

It is possible to apply search theory to an urban environment but there are many more difficulties.

It is unlikely an adult will get lost in the urban environment. It is more likely to be a child, elderly or mentally ill person.

In a rural environment such persons would be noticed quite easily whereas in the urban situation the chances are they will go unnoticed. This may well be due to the ‘lack’ of ownership of the environment, the ‘speed’ of the surroundings or the general confusion within a busy city area.

Urban Search Tactics

Media

The media are often viewed as a hindrance in everyday activities. However, they can be of benefit and provide good publicity for a search operation where the help of the public is needed.

One thing is certain, if the media want a story, they will get one, somehow.

Ignore them at your peril!

It is advisable to facilitate their needs otherwise they will do it themselves and could potentially interfere with the operation or even destroy evidence/clues. The media always like taking photographs of searchers in action so we should set something up for them and they will almost certainly go away happy, pleased with the cooperation they have received and any subsequent reports on the operation would be hopefully more favourable than had we tried to obstruct them. Hostility is in no-one’s interest.

One member of the management team should be nominated the press liaison officer. In very large and high profile operations the police press officer would probably take this role on.

Beware of letting the media have access to the family. If this is sought refer the matter to the Force press office and ensure the family liaison officer is consulted.

Computers in Searching

The advantages of IT have already been discussed in relation to aerial photography and mapping systems. This is probably the most valuable practical application of the computer as a search and rescue tool.

Very few searches ever get to the stage where a computer will make a difference.

The search manager should not get in front of a screen. He/she will be too far removed. They need to provide a visible and physical presence, to show they are in charge of the operation itself and not just a computer.

You do not need a computer to run a search operation. For a start you may not have a suitable and reliable source of power. There is some good and developing software available in relation to assigning POA’s and sectoring maps etc. However, a simple spreadsheet can be used for this and in any case the simple maths do not take very long.

Political Influences

The chapter discussing the suspension of the mission detailed some of the possibilities of interference with the decision to suspend a search. It is possible and even probable that such influences may be brought bear earlier on in a mission:

But Remember – You are the search manager and you know how to search, not them.

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The contents of this site are written in good faith, however the author can accept no responsibility for any loss, harm or damage howsoever caused by the use of content from this site.

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