Police emptying pounds

I WAS most concerned to read that the police are draining canals to look for bodies, as this does not portend very well for the future, writes Philip Turner.

Your comment that there is no intimation that other pounds may also be search is further worrying, as it is obvious that the police don't know if there is a body or where it might be. I have been involved with searches for bodies, but the system has always been to employ divers, that are trained for the job, that they do systematically.

Other authorities doing the same

If Manchester police have taken it upon themselves to now empty the pounds in its searches, it will not be long before other authorities do exactly the same, as it all boils down to money, and it is a lot less cost to wind a couple of paddles to empty a pound as it is to employ a team of divers to do the work, especially over a fairly long pound.

Of course, an empty pound leaves the canal bed completely clear for scrutiny, whereas divers would take days to search. I also wonder did the police first inform Canal & River Trust that the canal was to be drained, as though I subscribe to the stoppage notices, nothing was received.