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STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
Mission Statement
It is the primary
mission of the San Marcos Area Recovery Team (SMART)
to assist law enforcement agencies with underwater search, recovery, and
evidence processing and documentation of the underwater crime scene.
Our secondary missions include: providing services to individuals, non-profit
organizations, governments, community service groups, public service
agencies, and other entities with; lake and
river clean up projects, underwater cave restoration and exploration,
underwater archeology, scientific dive operations, underwater survey and
photography, water sampling, recovery, and other underwater related
operations that provide benefits to the community as needed. SMART responds throughout the State of Texas
routinely and has traveled outside the State of Texas and the U.S. to assist
other agencies.
SECTION
I - Overview of Team Operations and Response
Call
for service
When SMART receives a request for services by a requesting agency, individual
or entity, information will be obtained from the requesting entity as to the
location, nature of the call, circumstances of the incident, type of services
requested, urgency, and the names and call back phone numbers of contact
persons. SMART Divers will respond without monetary restitution when
requested by a law enforcement agency, governmental agency, fire department,
or emergency medical services entity (Public Service Agency). The contact
numbers to request SMART services are:
Office 512-353-1671
SMART may perform
commercial dive operations for donations at the discretion of and with the
approval of the command staff.
Initiating
a response
Unless exigent circumstances exist, SMART operations will be scheduled for
daylight hours, during suitable weather, and under conditions which minimize
the risk to SMART personnel. All SMART members will be called and notified of
each operation unless special circumstances exist which limit the number of
SMART members who can be present at the scene. Unless otherwise directed,
SMART personnel should wear SMART uniforms and shirts and meet the designated
time and place indicated on the alpha-numeric pager. Whenever possible, EMS personnel having jurisdiction at the operation location, will be notified of the operation and be
requested to "standby" on location throughout the SMART operation.
Vehicle and boat operations will be performed by those members who are in
good standing and have shown proficiency in the operation of such equipment.
Scene
assessment
On location, SMART personnel will sign in on the roster sheet and will be
directed by the dive team leaders. Team leaders will gather intelligence
information from witnesses, the requesting agency, and/or other sources to
determine the risk benefit factor and type of operation to be
performed. The benefits of the evidence and recovery
operation is balanced against the risk of the dive operation to
determine if the operation is safe to perform with minimum acceptable risk to
SMART personnel. Usual hazards include petroleum products from
vehicles, entanglements, depth, darkness, fishing lines and hooks, debris,
black water visibility, contaminated water, wildlife, and currents. Since
each operation is unique, a risk benefit factor is performed at each scene to
determine if SMART will perform the operation. The on scene dive commander
will have the final decision as to the operations of SMART personnel.
Operations
If the risk benefit factor is in favor of the operations, team leaders will
conduct a pre-dive briefing with SMART personnel to plan and
coordinate the operation. Each SMART member participating in the operation
will have a specific assignment. Assignments will be determined by the on
scene commander according to the skill level of the diver or support person,
special qualifications, necessary equipment, and needs of the operation. The
operation is then initiated under the direction of the dive team leaders. The
entire operation will be performed using the established SOP and general
rules of evidence as a guideline for the specific type of operation.
Post
operation debriefing
At the conclusion of the operation, SMART personnel will conduct a
post-operation debriefing to discuss details of the operation, obtain
necessary information about the operation, report any injuries to SMART
personnel, return equipment, and make suggestions for future improvements. At
the discretion of the dive team leaders, this debriefing may include the
requesting agency and other on scene personnel.
Reports
A written report will be completed by the dive team leader(s) within 24 hours
of the conclusion of the SMART operation. This report will be made available
to the requesting agency. This report will include the facts of the
operation, descriptions of the articles, evidence, persons recovered,
reported injuries, and all names of the participating SMART members. Dive
team leaders may speak with representatives of the media and make a written
press release. Written reports will include digital photos and underwater
video taken at the scene of the incident, and newspaper clippings of the
event.
General
Rules of Evidence
Nothing in the underwater scene or topside scene, is touched, disturbed, or
moved until documented with photographs, video, measurements, and sketches,
with accompanying notes and reports as necessary. Photographs, video, and
sketches need a scale reference. Each incident will be preserved and
processed as a crime scene during the entire operation, or until the
requesting law enforcement agency determines otherwise and
request a recovery operation only with no evidence collection. All
small articles of evidence, other than persons, will be delivered to topside
personnel for documentation and tagging. The article of evidence will then be
delivered to the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction at the operation
site.
Basic rope signals
When underwater
electronic communication equipment is not used
1 pull: OK, the pull is then returned by the
rope tender on the other end in acknowledgement.
2 pulls: START
or MOVE
3 pulls: STOP
5 pulls: TARGET LOCATED
Continual rope pulls - ASSISTANCE
NEEDED
Underwater
Communications
Full face mask communications
Full face masks
with underwater communication capabilities will be mandatory during black
water conditions that exceed 25 feet or any operation that exceeds 45 feet in
depth. This will include diver to diver and surface to diver full
duplex communication support.
Underwater
Video
Whenever
practical, SMART Divers will use a hand held infrared camera operated by the
diver to provide a live feed video image to monitors viewed by the surface
support team. The surface team will record the dive and recovery operation in
VHS format for delivery to the appropriate law enforcement agency
investigating the incident. The video is handled as any other piece of
evidence with a documented chain of custody. A copy of the VHS tape will
remain with SMART for transfer to DVD for permanent hard storage.
Section
II - Recovery Operations and Evidence Preservation
A.
Victim
Recovery
General Rules of
Evidence: Nothing
in the underwater scene is touched, disturbed, or moved until documented with
photographs, video, measurements, and sketches, with accompanying notes and
reports as necessary. Photographs, video, and sketches need a scale
reference. Each incident will be preserved and processed as a crime scene
during the entire operation, or until the requesting law enforcement agency determines otherwise and request a recovery
operation only with no evidence collection.
Risk Benefit Factor: The benefits of the
evidence and recovery operation is balanced against the risk of the
dive operation to determine if the operation is safe to perform. Usual
hazards include petroleum products from vehicles, entanglements, depth,
darkness, fishing lines, debris, black water visibility, contaminated water,
wildlife, and currents. Since each operation is unique, a risk benefit factor
is performed at each scene to determine if divers will enter the water.
Information obtained in the initial briefing from the requesting law enforcement
agency is also included in the risk benefit factor.
Initial Survey: If the victims
location is known, and a risk benefit factor is in favor of a dive operation,
an initial dive is performed by a minimum of two divers. While following the
general rules of evidence, the initial divers will survey the underwater
scene and report their findings topside to help plan the evidence and
recovery operation.
Search for Victims: If the victims last location is not
known, topside support and dive team leaders will conduct interviews with law
enforcement personnel and witnesses to determine the best search location
based on the last seen point of the victim (LSP). The search location will be
marked with floatation markers and dive flags, and moved as necessary. Dive
team leaders in the pre-dive briefing will then decide upon the best search
pattern or patterns to locate the victim(s). The search phase of the
operation will continue until the victim or article of the search is found.
When a diver(s) locates the victim(s), they will alert other divers that the
victim has been found and the evidence collection phase may begin. To alert
other divers of the discovery, a predetermined signal is used (usually 5 rope
tugs and deployment of a dive marker).
Evidence Collection
and Documentation:
Each diver participating in the evidence collection and documentation phase
of the operation will have a specific assignment. Assignments will be
determined by the on scene commander according to the skill level of the
diver, special qualifications, equipment, and needs of the operation. When
divers are alerted that the victim or object has been located, the evidence
phase of the operation begins. The diver locating the victim will note the
depth and positioning of the victim, and deploy a dive marker next to the
victim. Topside support will photograph the marker at the surface and
evidence collection divers will be deployed.
Divers
participating in the evidence collection phase will perform the following
tasks:
Photograph and video
tape the underwater scene.
Note the depth, water
temperature, and positioning of victim.
Take accurate
measurements of the victim and location, note the GPS coordinates.
Note the victim’s
condition and note any
visible injuries to victim.
Note the clothing, foot
wear, and jewelry the victim is wearing.
Bag the hands, feet, and
head of the victim with stockings or condoms (depending on victims
condition).
Wrap the victim in a
sterile white sheet and ensure the preservation of trace evidence.
Take a water and soil
sample in the immediate area where victim was located.
Body bag the victim
using a specially designed water body bag prior to removal from the water.
Search the immediate
area around the location where victim was found for any potential evidence.
Collect articles,
papers, and effects which are, or possibly related, to the incident being
investigated.
Search the recovery
location with the use of a metal detector.
Collect articles related
to the incident which were found with the use of a metal detector.
Recovery
Operation
After the evidence collection phase of the operation has concluded, the
victim is brought to the surface by the diver who made the initial discovery,
or designated diver, and the victim will be turned over to the law
enforcement agency having jurisdiction. After the water and bottom soil
sample is properly documented and labeled, it will be delivered to the law
enforcement agency having jurisdiction. The water and bottom soil sample
should accompany the victim to autopsy for examination. Other evidence
collected and recovered will be processes in compliance with Standard
Operating Procedures (SOP) established by SMART for the processing and
handling of evidence. The dive marker is retrieved and all SMART personnel will
conduct a post-dive debriefing to discuss the operation and make suggestions
for improvements.
B.
Vehicle Recovery
General Rules of
Evidence: Nothing
in the underwater or topside scene is touched, disturbed, or moved until
documented with photographs, video, measurements, and sketches, with
accompanying notes and reports as necessary. Photographs, video, and sketches
need a scale reference. Each incident will be preserved and processed as a
crime scene during the entire operation, or until the requesting law
enforcement agency determines otherwise.
Risk Benefit Factor: The benefit of the evidence and
recovery operation is balanced against the risk of the dive operation to
determine if the operation is performed. Usual hazards include
petroleum products in the water, entanglements from the vehicle, fishing
lines, debris, unstable vehicle positioning, black water visibility,
contaminated water, wildlife, and currents. Since each operation is unique, a
risk benefit factor is performed at each scene to determine if divers will
enter the water. Information obtained in the initial briefing from the
requesting law enforcement agency is also included in the risk benefit
factor.
Initial Survey: If the risk benefit factor is in
favor of a dive operation, an initial dive is performed by a minimum of two
divers to determine the position and condition of the vehicle, the number of
victims and location of victims in the immediate vicinity, and the overall
condition and positioning of the underwater scene. While following the
general rules of evidence, divers survey the scene and report their findings
topside to help plan the evidence and recovery operation.
Evidence Collection
and Documentation:
Each diver will have a specific assignment during the evidence collection
phase of the operation. Assignments will be determined by the on scene
commander according to the skill level of the diver, special qualifications,
equipment, and needs of the operation. Each part of the vehicle will be
examined underwater to determine; the identity of the vehicle, the existence
of damage and potential evidence, the location and positioning of victims,
and the positioning of vehicle mechanical and electrical functions.
Before the recovery
phase of the operation can begin, the underwater phase of the evidence
collection must be complete. Evidence that cannot be recovered until the
vehicle is moved, must be documented in place by
photographs and sketches.
Each diver will report
his or her findings and deliver collected evidence to topside personnel for
collection and documentation. The divers will note the location and recovery
depth of each item of evidence. Evidence will be collected in compliance with
Standard Operating Procedures established by SMART for the processing and
handling of evidence.
Evidence
to be collected
Victims- (Each victim
will be processed and recovered as stated in SOP for victim recovery)
Water and bottom sample-
(Even if victims are not recovered)
Articles, papers, and
effects which are, or possibly related, to the incident being investigated.
Vehicle parts and
accessories which have detached from the vehicle.
Articles, papers, and
effects inside the vehicle which may be lost when the vehicle is recovered.
Articles related to the
investigated incident which were found with the use
of a metal detector.
Photographs of
underwater scene, recovered persons, recovered vehicle, and related items.
Measurements of underwater
scene, vehicle positioning with reference points, recovered persons, with
associated GPS coordinates if possible.
NOTE: Glove compartments, consoles,
trunks, camper shells, and other closed areas of the vehicle should not be
entered during the underwater evidence collection and documentation operation
unless there is a substantial risk of loosing evidence during the recovery
operation.
Required
Documentation and Reports for vehicle recovery
Vehicle
Exterior
Complete damage
survey. This
includes all sides, roof, undercarriage, wheels, windows, and accessories
that are accessible from the vehicle exterior.
Vehicle
identification:
This includes recording the license plate, color, model, and other vehicle
identifiers to assist law enforcement with the initial on scene
investigation.
Positioning of
mechanical devices.
This includes the positioning of doors, wheels, windows, trunk, hood, sun
roof, tailgate, rear sliding window, and other mechanical devices on the
vehicle exterior.
Vehicle
Interior
Complete damage
survey. This
includes all visible damage inside the vehicle. (Example: missing radio,
steering column broken, steering wheel bent forward, windshield smashed,
handle missing, etc.)
Positioning of
victims. This
will include the location and position of victim(s) inside the vehicle, and
if seat belts were in use.
Positioning of
mechanical devices.
This includes ALL mechanical devices inside the vehicle and the position each
device was discovered. (example: wipers, headlights, vents, seats, radio, CD,
cassette, AC, glove compartment, ash trays, cell phone, mirror, headrest, sun
roof, fuel gage, speedometer, and other devices and instruments)
Recovery
Operation
After the underwater evidence collection and documentation has concluded, the recovery operation may begin. Recovery divers will
coordinate with the on scene commander and the wrecker service to insure that
the vehicle recovery operation minimizes damage to the vehicle and preserves
any further potential evidence which could not be collected underwater. The
Vehicle should be removed in the upright position with the tow hooks attached
to the rear axle(s). The windows are open and the door closed to the first
click to prevent the water pressure from breaking out windows. When the
vehicle has been safely removed from the water evidence collection continues,
including the opening of closed compartments and taking additional
photographs. In all cases, the safety of SMART Divers and topside personnel
is of the greatest importance. These Standard Operating Procedures may be
adjusted to insure a safe operation.
Section
III - SEARCH PATTERNS
Click on each
picture for a larger view of the search pattern.
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