Diving and Marine Conference to share good practice

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) National Police Diving and Marine Conference 2006 will take place at the De Vere Carden Park Hotel, Cheshire on November 20-21.

This, the first conference of its kind which is to be an annual event, will see a variety of expert speakers from external agencies converging to share information and good practice in the field of marine and diving.

The presentations will feature speakers from the Health and Safety Executive, Marine Accident and Investigations Bureau, Customs and Revenue and the Maritime and coastal Agency. Representatives from the Metropolitan Police will also be discussing the new intelligence system for marine units called Remit.

Technology will be presented at the conference, which will look at new sector and sonar imaging equipment used for underwater surveys, and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) used for underwater searches.

PC David Allen, Lancashire Police, is one of the conference organisers. He said: “This conference will showcase a variety of practical work in the marine field that will aid prosecutions and investigations.

“The conference is backed by West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable John Sampson. He is now going around the country trying to get everyone in this field working to the same objectives; trying to bring the diving and marine police world into a more main stream policing arena.

“Training issues in how marine problems are investigated and how they are prosecuted are an important focus of the conference. They all need to be done in a universal way and everyone needs to be trained to the same level and through the same routes so that a shared knowledge can be embedded across the country.”