Two Metropolitan Police officers patrol the tidal waters River Thames near Tower Bridge in London, England. In their small boat used to police and often make searches of the river in central London, their searchlight watches for people in the water - especially on Fridays and around New year. The Underwater and Confined Space Search Team (UCSST), are part of the Marine Support Unit and based at Wapping. They also carry out searches in canals, ponds, lakes and reservoirs. It was set up as a full time unit in 1964. One of their most distressing jobs, however, is recovering bodies from the River. On average over 50 people lose their lives in the Thames each year and about 80% of these are by suicide (usually by jumping off one of the many bridges that cross the Thames).
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