Surrey SAR assists Surrey Police in finding some of the most high-risk 2,100 vulnerable adults and children that go missing in Surrey every year. The team also support Surrey Fire and Rescue Service in water rescue and are also on Defra’s asset register to deploy anywhere in the UK for flood support.
As one of the UK’s 35 lowland rescue teams, Surrey SAR is on call 24/7, 365 days a year, with a team of more than 80 volunteers and search dogs. It receives no central or local government funding and relies entirely on donations to purchase and maintain vital lifesaving equipment and technology, and to train its volunteers.
When an incident is reported to Surrey Police’s Police Search Advisers (PolSAs) and a person is deemed vulnerable or ‘high risk’, Surrey’s SAR planning and mapping technology is activated. This is where data and incident-specific information can be shared with search teams and Surrey Police, in real time, through Surrey SAR’s planning software.
The ability to share this information is dependent on a continuous and robust network connection. This is provided by long-term Panasonic partners, Cradlepoint, providing multiple WAN and cellular connections in connectivity “not spots”, to ensure that rescue operations can proceed as planned.
The military-grade ruggedness and IP65*-rated water and dust capabilities of the TOUGHBOOK 33 enable Surrey SAR volunteers to use the device in any environment, without any fear of drops, knocks, and vibrations affecting operation. The teams also utilise the TOUGHBOOK 33’s hot swappable twin batteries capability, which allows them to quickly switch batteries on operations without having to turn off the device.
