Some journalists go undercover to investigate, but reporter Amanda Dale went underwater. She joined members of the Bermuda Police Dive Team as they trained to become Underwater and Master Underwater Criminal Investigators. Observing the Police divers search for evidence, lift submerged cars and body bag 'bodies', she saw first-hand just how strenuous and gruelling their work can be

Police divers undergo the extremes of police work — treacherous conditions, zero visibility and severe physical exertion.

It all requires a focus of 101 percent and excellent teamwork. What they do is often a thankless task but the results can prove crucial in bringing closure to the families of victims of crime.

For the past fortnight, FBI consultant and head of the Virginia State Police Dive Team, First Sergeant Mike Berry has been training divers from the Bermuda Police Service.

Mr. Berry is founder and president of Underwater Criminal Investigators, a company which trains divers in public safety diving.

He has trained Police all over the US and Canada, as well as FBI divers. UCI also trains fire, rescue and military personnel from around the world in search and recovery techniques.

He has extensive experience of investigating homicides and in 2002 to 2003 was Dive Commander for the FBI's investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The operation was the largest underwater criminal case investigated in the US and involved scouring frozen ponds in Maryland near the home of a scientist who was called a "person of interest" in the probe.

In Bermuda, Mr. Berry has been training eight officers as Underwater Criminal Investigators while another four officers completed the Master UCI course.

Describing the rigorous training they have to go through, Mr. Berry said: "We take Police divers and basically teach them how to be underwater criminal investigators so they are not just scuba divers, they are actually investigating, using the same techniques as a land investigator would. Let's say there is a murder and they take the gun and throw it into a field somewhere. If someone works that case and knows it's out there, they will set up a perimeter and an organised search.

"They will photograph and triangulate any evidence they find, documenting its exact location. Then they put this on a crime field sketch and then a technician will come in and package the gun ready for forensics.

"If that same gun has been thrown in the water, the truth is that the rules don't change. There are certain procedures to follow in that investigation, and this course teaches those procedures — how to do that underwater.

"They will still do a thorough search, photographing and triangulating the location where the gun sits on the bottom, then documenting it and packaging it."

The difference however, is that when the evidence is underwater, the working conditions are much harder.

Imagine having to sift through broken glass, sea urchins and jelly fish to trawl for evidence amid zero visibility because the silt you are sifting through with your gloves is all stirred up. "Then imagine you have to fight a current and it is cold and dark. All the time you have to keep an eye on your 'bottom time' and watch your air supply to prevent it from running out.

Mr. Berry said: "The general rule of an Underwater Criminal Investigator is not only to recover things underwater but to recover them in the exact same condition you found them in.

"Let's say you find a murder weapon, a pistol, and the fingerprints are still on it. Those prints can turn the case, so having your divers trained to preserve the fingerprints and get that trace evidence — that's the type of level you need your divers at."

Mr. Berry said a fingerprint can remain on an item for up to five days in freshwater.

This week he has been experimenting with the length of time it takes for one to fade in saltwater.

"There is also still a possibility of DNA evidence from blood and semen," he said. "Just because something is put in the water doesn't mean it is destroyed. Water actually acts as a preservative. That's what an Underwater Criminal Investigator learns."

Describing the difficulties of working in poor visibility, Mr. Berry said: "It's all about feel, it's like braille, and that's where the search patterns come in.

"You have to have an organised methodical way of 'clearing' an area. This course develops the ability to go underwater and be so sensitive down there, that just by feel, you are able to recover bullets."

And even the tiny teeth of a baby in zero visibility. "Using a methodical method you can find as small a remains as a child's tooth," said Mr. Berry.

He says this is the hardest part of the job — recovering the bodies of children.

"It can break a diver. I've had some divers who have quit the team because they can't handle it anymore. So in this programme, we encourage divers to say if they can't do the body recovery."

On an island vulnerable to hurricanes, the Bermuda Police Dive Team are responsible for the recovery of bodies from the water.

"On a day-to-day basis however, the items they have to recover are mainly stolen cars and motorbikes, and the contents of handbags snatched in robberies. The officers also recover motorcycles accidentally driven into the water (usually by tourists) and lost property.

Searching boats suspected of smuggling drugs in packages taped, welded or roped underneath, is another requirement of the job.

This week, officers put their UCI skills to immediate use in an underwater search of the ferry involved in last Saturday's crash in Ireland Island.

Dive Team Leader P.c. Chris Taggett, of the Marine Section, said: "I would like to thank the senior officers of the Police Service for seeing the merits of this course and allocating the funds for it.

"It encompasses everything we need to know, such as evidence recovery and vehicle recovery, to lost property, items stolen in robberies, and looking for victims of drowning."

In order to make their work safer and more efficient, the team now need financial assistance to procure a Side Scan Sonar, to detect items underwater, for divers more effectively.

If any companies or financial institutions are willing to help out, please contact P.c. Taggett via Police HQ at 299 4425.