Underwater Investigator is Dive Rescue International’s renowned two day (16 hour) training program for public safety personnel involved in underwater crime scenes. Underwater Investigator prepares public safety dive teams to perform investigations involving weapon recovery, body recovery, vehicle and aircraft recovery, and scuba fatalities. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to effectively investigate the underwater crime scene and report to authorities and supporting agencies in a credible and professional manner.

This program is presented in the classroom.

Successful completion of this program is measured in class participation and an end of program comprehensive test.

Key training topics and the associated objectives include:
AIRCRAFT RECOVERY
• Identify alternative search techniques when conventional ones fail
• Name the technique used to recover an aircraft using airlift bags
• Discuss when ceasing to recover aircraft wreckage parts is acceptable
• List two examples of temporary morgues
• Discuss precautions taken when wreckage needs to be lifted with bodies still in the aircraft
• Identify the major dangers involved with diving on, in, or around a submerged aircraft
FIREARMS RECOVERY
• Define the term “rifling” and identify the technical term for the raised portions and valleys on a bullet
• Describe where marks on a shell casing may come from
• Identify how to properly preserve a firearm for ballistics examination
• List the variables that effect the oxidation (rusting) of a submerged firearm
• Explain what information to record from a firearm before placing it in a preservative medium
• Discuss what notes should include when recovering any evidence
SKELETAL REMAINS RECOVERY
• Define “skeletal remains recovery”
• Explain what can be indicated with skeletal remains
• List some of the main features used in skeletal remains to identify gender
• Discuss artifacts that can be found near skeletal remains that may be used to find out more detail about the deceased
• List the three racial origins
• Explain how to interview witnesses at the scene
SCUBA FATALITY INVESTIGATION
• Identify the mot reliable source of information that can lead you to a lost diver
• Describe how to recover a deceased scuba victim
• List the four most common contaminants in scuba cylinders that could contribute to fatalities
• Discuss the observations that need to be made immediately when you find a victim prior to moving the body
• Explain the three areas that need to be searched when a drowning has occurred in white water
BODY RECOVERY
• Discuss the factors that the rate of rigor mortis depends on
• Explain where tissue damage occurs due to “travel abrasions”
• Define anthroprophagy
• Understand the processes and causes of putrefaction and decomposition
• Identify the variable that need to be considered when using the postmortem cooling rate
• Describe equipment needed by a dive team to handle a badly decomposed body
• List two characteristics of a drowning victim’s lungs
• Understand gases responsible for refloat and factors that effect the time of refloat

PREREQUISITES
All students must be a member of a public safety agency and at least 18 years of age.

Estimated Schedule
DAY 1
8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Registration, introductions, and course review
8:30 – 12:00 p.m. Classroom
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break
1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Classroom
DAY 2
8:00 – 12:00 p.m. Classroom
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Classroom