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| Structure of the Search & Rescue Unit | |||||||||||||||||||
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The Unit has been affiliated to the
Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland
for over 25 years.
The Unit trains regularly with their civilian counterparts in Tayside, and both teams work together on all search operations in the region. The Police have two Mountain Rescue Posts in the region, one in each of the divisional headquarters at Perth and Forfar. There are 28 officers, both male and female in the Unit, and they are still all volunteers. They perform ordinary Police duties most of the time, but can be called upon at anytime, even when off duty, to respond to a "callout". The average number callouts each year is 27, and these range from fallen climbers, to suicides or missing children searches. 
In addition to the obvious skills needed for mountain rescue work, e.g. navigation, searching and technical
rockwork, all officers undergo additional training in a number of specialisms. These include search
management, offroad driving, (both car and quad), first aid, swiftwater rescue and boat searching. They also
train with Ministry of Defence helicopters at least once each year.
Funding is an important part of the structure of the Unit. Donations made to the Unit assist in buying specialised equipment, such as the satellite phone, which was donated by BT. The laptop computers and generators were purchased from private donations, whilst the Order of St. John gave money for the base vehicle. Without this type of help the Unit would struggle to meet the demands of modern search and rescue management. |
