HomePublic Safety SCUBA Diver

Public Safety SCUBA Diver Certification

Course Duration: 52 hours

This course is available for on-site delivery on a contract basis. Please contact the Police Dynamics Institute for more information.

Course Description:

This course is designed for current or soon to be Public Safety Divers assigned to a Law Enforcement, Fire Service, Emergency Management, or Emergency Medical Service Agency. Advanced Open Water SCUBA (or equivalent) certification is a pre-requisite for this course. Graduates will be certified as Public Safety SCUBA Divers through the Professional SCUBA Association International (PSAI) and the Police Dynamics Institute.

Course Topics:

This 6-day (52-hour) course covers:

• Dive Team Management and Control

• Dealing with Stress and Panic

• Deep Diving Equipment Considerations

• Dive Preparation and Planning

• Managing Physiological Factors

• Dive Tables and Air Consumption

• Managing Dive Equipment Failures

• Managing Pressure Maladies

• Equipping the Public Safety Dive Team

• Underwater Search and Recovery

• Night Navigation Dive

• Underwater Crime Scene Photography

NOTE:

Due to the low instructor-student ratio demanded by this course, registrations are limited to 12 students. Register soon to reserve your seat.

Primary Instructor:

With over 30 years experience as a Public Safety Diver, Julian Blair has commanded, trained, and organized law enforcement, fire service, and military dive teams including teams in China. He retired as the Dive Team Commander for the Dorchester County (SC) Sheriff’s Office and the SC State Guard, having retired at the rank of Colonel. He now serves as the Dive Team Training Officer for the Sumter County (SC) Sheriff’s Office and the Sumter Fire Department. In addition, he is the Director of Training for the SC Law Enforcement Divers Association, an Instructor Trainer Examiner for the Professional SCUBA Association International (PSAI) Public Safety Diver Program, a member of the PSAI Advisory Board on Public Safety Diving, and PSAI’s International Director of Training for Public Safety Diving.

Julian holds numerous other instructor-level certifications in both sport diving and law enforcement/public safety diving and is an active instructor trainer with the National Academy of Police Diving. He is the primary author of the PSAI Public Safety Diver Course curriculum.

In addition to his SCUBA experience and certifications, Julian is an experienced and certified police officer, detective, and arson/explosives investigator. He holds college degrees in both criminal justice and fire service, is a licensed Commercial Pilot with both instrument and multi-engine ratings, and regularly instructs at the SC Fire Academy.

Julian will be assisted by other qualified diver instructors during the course.

NOTE:

The Police Dynamics Training Center and its training programs are officially recognized and approved by the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Command and Staff College, and the Justice Clearinghouse. Course topics are subject to change based on instructor and/or course material availability.

Equipment:

Students will be responsible for supplying their own basic SCUBA equipment including:

• tank

• BCD

• mask and snorkel

• regulators (primary and secondary)

• weights and belt

• wet suit

• fins and gloves

• dive light

• compass

• laptop (one per dive team)

Although not required, students are encouraged to bring any specialty public safety equipment that they would like to use during the course or have evaluated by the instructors.