17 RGP And GDP Officers Qualify As Licensed Search Officers

Fifteen Royal Gibraltar Police officers and two Gibraltar Defence Police officers have qualified as Licensed Search Officers after completing a specialist training course delivered by instructors from the UK’s Police National Search Centre.

The course covered search procedures, threat recognition, health and safety and responding to suspicious items, with officers completing written examinations and practical assessments. The accreditation supports their role in counter-terrorism, crime and missing person searches.

A statement from the RGP follows below:

Fifteen officers from the Royal Gibraltar Police, and two officers from the Gibraltar  Defence Police, have this week qualified as Licensed Search Officers (LSOs) after  successfully completing a demanding course hosted by the RGP and delivered by  instructors from the United Kingdom’s Police National Search Centre (PNSC). The  PNSC is a joint police and military unit authorised by the National Police Chiefs Council  as the sole provider of training in counter-terrorism, crime and missing person search  techniques.  

Licensed Search Officers play a vital role in protecting the public, working as part of  trained search teams under the direction of a Police Search Adviser (PolSA), in three  categories of deployment, namely, counter-terrorism, crime and missing person  searches. Teams carry out systematic, intelligence-led searches of venues, premises,  vehicles, routes and open areas, in support of major events, planned operations and  incidents. 

Throughout the week, officers received classroom instruction in methods of attack,  learning to recognise potential threats and indicators, as well as in-depth training in  search procedures, health and safety and responses to discovering suspicious items. 

Classroom learning was reinforced through daily practical exercise scenarios, with the  course culminating in 2 written examinations covering Methods of Attack and Search  Procedures and requiring an 80% pass mark, together with 2 final assessed practicals  where officers were required to demonstrate their ability to plan, conduct and record a  search to the required standard under assessment conditions. Commissioner of Police  Owain Richards presented those who successfully completed the course with their  certificates and accreditation. 

RGP Superintendent Paul Chipolina, Head of Operations and Strategic Lead for Specialist Capabilities said, “This is a demanding course with no shortcuts and high  pass marks required for all assessments in order for students to receive their  accreditation, and rightly so.  

“Whenever we deploy Police specialist search teams operationally, which in  Gibraltar occurs frequently throughout the year, teams must perform to high standards and provide Police Commanders, our partners, and the wider community, with the  confidence that their work is conducted diligently and methodically.”