PADI Public Safety Diver

Public safety dive teams search for lost or deliberately discarded objects and sometimes participate in criminal investigations. Their work can help provide legal and emotional closure and the job can be very rewarding.

Public safety divers may be called upon to look for evidence, locate underwater vehicles and missing people, but not all public safety dive team members get in the water. Surface support personnel handle important topside tasks, such as scene management and witness interviews.

Public safety diving requires special training and a significantly different mindset than recreational diving. Public safety divers may be asked to dive in limited visibility and other hazardous conditions.

Public safety divers must have excellent search and recovery skills, learn special communication procedures and master self-rescue techniques. They also need topside training on how to manage a scene, bag evidence and interact with witnesses.

In the PADI Public Safety Diver certification course, students learn how to evaluate and manage a scene, critical self-rescue skills, search and rescue techniques, and communication procedures.

PADI Surface Support Specialist is a sub-set of the Public Safety Diver course for nondiving team members. Students learn how to support divers from the surface, assist with pre-dive safety checks, equipment setup and scene management.

Divers who wish to expand their skills (and potential job opportunities) may enroll in the PADI® Public Safety Diver course.

Prerequisites Public Safety Diver:18 years old and certified as Rescue Diver or be concurrently enrolled in a PADI Rescue Diver course.

Prerequisites Surface Support Specialist:18 years old and trained in current EFR Primary and Secondary Care or be concurrently enrolled in an EFR Primary and Secondary Care course.