The Garda Water Support Unit () is a unit of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

, the police service of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Formerly known as the Garda Sub-Aqua Unit, the name was changed to incorporate the services of the non-diving surfaced based marine section. It is part of the Operational Support Units which provides specialist support to Gardaí nationwide. The Operational Support Units also includes the Dog Support, Mounted Support and

Air Support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as Strafing, strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS r ...

Operations

The Water Unit exists to assist the Garda Síochána in both

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

and surface operations. Diving operations include searching for and recovery of missing persons and evidence, conducting security searches in water and in confined spaces e.g. sewers. The unit also conduct surface patrols which encompass

maritime safety Maritime safety as part of and overlapping with water safety is concerned with the protection of life ( search and rescue) and property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to th ...

, maritime legislation enforcement and security patrols. The approximate strength of the unit is three sergeants and fourteen officers, who cover the entire jurisdiction of the Republic of Ireland. The unit operate out of

Santry Santry () is a suburb on the northside of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Coolock, Glasnevin, Kilmore and Ballymun. It straddles the boundary of Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council jurisdictions. The character of the area has chang ...

Garda Station,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, and

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

Garda Station,

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

Training

250px, Garda Water Unit lorry The environments where the Garda Water Unit members carry out their duties are potentially life-threatening. Training of team members is thorough and on-going. Members must successfully complete courses in the following areas: *Breathing Apparatus and Escape sets (Confined Space Searches) *ISA Advanced Powerboat

Coxswain The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...

*Firearms familiarisation & safe handling *Evidence handling & recovery *Garda Driving courses Members can further specialise in: dive supervision, underwater photography, climbing & rope skills, equipment servicing, and

Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

operating.

Equipment

Garda Patrol Boat ''Colm na Cora'' on the Liffey The Garda Water Unit employ a mixture of fifteen different types of water-borne vessels, mostly inflatable boats. Two however are river-going vessels used for inland patrols.

Inter-agency operations

The Garda Water Unit cross-trains with the other Garda Operational Support Units. It also carries out operations and exercises with a number of agencies such as the

Irish Coast Guard The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG; ) is part of the Department of Transport (Ireland), Department of Transport in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The primary roles of the Coast Guard include maritime safety and search and rescue. The ''Irish Marine Se ...

, the Irish Customs Service, the

Irish Naval Service The Naval Service () is the maritime component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though prece ...

( NSDS) and the

Civil Defence Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...

References

External links

Official site
Water Unit Maritime law enforcement units {{ireland-stub