The teams call outs are triggered by Devon and Cornwall Police. The cases that involve lost people are dealt with by specially trained officers called Lost Person Search Managers (LPSM)
The Police generally run this course and if there is space, open it up to partner agencies. I was privileged to attend the latest course, which ran last week and culminated on Saturday with a major final exercise involving many Search and Rescue agencies.
The week’s intense course is designed to give the candidates the skills and knowledge to become an LPSM. It is a mixture of PowerPoint presentations and scenario-based learning, which gave a massive insight into how the Police operate in this type of case.
Lost Person Search Management is a fascinating and vast topic, and after years of research, there is no defined set of variables that can aid in these cases.
The week was thoroughly enjoyable, and due to the instructors’ first-class teaching, everyone could pass the course. The local Search and Rescue teams can now look forward to working with the latest class of LPSM’s.
