£7.5K to help search teams in Bucks

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley has awarded £20,000 of exceptional funding to five Search and Rescue Teams across the Thames Valley.

Two of these are in Buckinghamshire.

Buckinghamshire Search & Rescue has received £5,000 to fund the costs of MAPYX and assist with running costs. MAPYX is an advanced mapping system, which the Search Units have adopted to assist with planning missing person searches. It also enables the Search Teams to share maps digitally, and send out live track texts to lost/vulnerable missing persons.

Search Dogs Buckinghamshire has received £2,500 to assist in the teams' running costs, as well as equipment for the Search Dogs and Technicians.

Anthony Stansfeld, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, said: “I am delighted to have been able to award this funding to five organisations who provide regular assistance to Thames Valley Police in the search of vulnerable, missing persons.

“The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has meant that some organisations are finding it increasingly difficult to secure funding. I am therefore delighted to be able to award this exceptional funding to help support these organisations and, in turn, keep our communities safe.”

Thames Valley Police Deputy Chief Constable Jason Hogg, said: “We are very pleased that this award has been approved and hope that the funding will help Lowland Search & Rescue and the search dog teams to continue their great work with Thames Valley Police and other partners.

“These are volunteer organisations and the assistance they have provided to Thames Valley Police in a number of missing persons investigations has, on many occasions, been paramount to successful outcomes.

“We will continue to work with their teams, who will continue to provide valuable support to the force in the future.”

Funding received by all five Search & Rescue Teams has been largely secured through the Police Property Act Fund (PPAF). The Fund, jointly managed by the PCC and the Chief Constable, is created from money recovered by the police and the proceeds from the sale of items that cannot be returned to identified owners, including seizures from criminals.

Despite the ongoing impact of the pandemic, all five Search Teams remain as busy as any other year. They continue to respond to high-risk missing person calls, with a number of high-profile cases making national news.