Diving firm tests the water in bid to carry out searches

A COMMERCIAL diving firm is bidding to carry out underwater searches for Scotland's largest police force.

Clyde Commercial Diving hopes that the pressure on police budgets will encourage Strathclyde Police to offer them a contract.

Two of the company's directors are former police divers, and it believes it could cut the force's costs by half by taking care of training, providing its own equipment and freeing up police officers' time.

To train a police diver from scratch takes eight weeks, costs about 8,000 and can only be done at the Police Diver Training Centre in Northumbria.

Becoming a police diving superviser requires a further three-week course.

Fred Hall, a former police officer and operations director of the company's Secure Search Division, said: "Because of the savings the public sector is making, we believe there is potential for growth where the private sector has the specialist ability to carry out the same work.

"I used to be in charge of the Strathclyde underwater search and rescue team, so I know how much it cost to run and how much we could save.

"They would not have to provide training and we would provide our own equipment."

The company's four full-time partners have diving experience either with the police, military or commercial sector. It also has a bank of trained divers it can call upon as and when jobs come up.

Mr Hall said: "We can carry out underwater searches, checks of confined spaces, such as sewers, and harbour checks where a boat is expected carrying a VIP."

"We believe we can offer the same service, if not better, for less."

Strathclyde Police was unable to comment on the bid.