Last Thursday we were grateful to be able to welcome Mike Ferguson from The Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST), a core part of the Home Office, to come and talk to us. Over a captivating hour, Mike shared with us his case experience and the uses of different search equipment for:

Mike Ferguson explaining the marine diver hand held sonar.

He also brought along a variety of search equipment including: ground penetrating radar, a marine diver hand held sonar and a drone.

Drone used for surveying.

Mike demonstrated some of this equipment and explained how it is used and the information you can obtain. This provided students with an insight on how search and recovery equipment is utilised in the field to aid in investigations. He finished his presentation with a talk about the different subdivisions of CAST and the research being conducted if any students were interested in getting involved with the work the Home Office does. Following the discussion, the students then had a chance to try out some of the equipment for themselves over drinks and snacks.