First Police Frogmen Unit

A reporter interviews the Chief Inspector of Devon County Constabulary while police frogmen and divers search the river as part of their training. The first Police Frogmen Unit in the South West is launched at Peters Marland in Exeter, Devon. The small force is dependent on a group of volunteers who have been kitted out with new police equipment. Historically, police forces used to depend on Royal Navy combat divers or rescue divers from the British Sub-Aqua Club.

In March 1961 the first Metropolitan Police Frogman Unit was set up in London and other parts of the country followed suit. The all too familiar scenes on the news or in crime dramas highlight the importance of this service for search and rescue, fingertip combing of underwater crime scenes, drugs hauls, anti-terrorism operations, ordnance retrieval and disposal and general maritime law enforcement. Operations are carried out on the nation’s lakes, rivers, sewers or seas in often hostile conditions including at night, in adverse weather, with difficulties including poor visibility and occasional toxic environments. Devon County Constabulary amalgamated with Exeter, Cornwall and Plymouth in 1967.