In 2001 the board formed a Membership Committee to propose policies related to the classification of members. Its recommendations were presented in August, 2001 and adopted by the board and membership in October, 2001.
Some members of the organization may not be ready or able to respond to an emergency. Having a policy that describes the operational classification of members protects the members and the organization.
No details of the analysis have been recorded.
The following policies are active.
For operational purposes (e.g. searches) members are classified as either an Emergency Response Member, a Resource Member, or a Non-Responding Member. Members shall be informed of their classification. [A1,R1]
Emergency Response Members are suitable to be called during an emergency call-out. There may be specific limitations on when they are called, e.g. "Logistical Support only". [A1]
Unlike Resource Members, Emergency Response Members do not need to be specifically identified by the Logistics Officer to be called during an emergency call-out. [A1]
Emergency Response Members must: [A1]
Resource Members are not called during the normal process of an emergency call-out. They are suitable to be involved in operational activities under appropriate circumstances. Record is kept of under what circumstance a Resource Member could be called. They are called only if specifically identified by the Logistics Officer. [A1,R3]
Resource Members must: [A1]
Non-Responding Members are those Members that are not Emergency Response Members or Resource Members. [A1]
[A1] current Board Resolution 2001-10-02 motion X:
Be it moved that the Memebership Policies and the Quorum Policies be accepted as presented by the Membership Committee in their report dated Aug 9, 2001.
[R1] Members need to know how they are being classified so they understand whether and when they will be called during an operation.
[R2] SAR Fundamentals Certification allows the other SAR workers to assume that the Member has a basic level of understanding and shared approach which justifies the Member being called without verifying or further considering this issue. To maintain SAR Fundamentals certification, the individual must participate in two incidents (mock or real searches) in the last 12 months. Because of the limited number of certified Members available, the pool of Emergency Response Members needs to be increased by those committing to obtain certification.
[R3] Resource Members have specific reasons why they are not currently listed as Emergency Response Members. A qualified person (the Logistics Officer) must consider whether the reasons apply to the current operation.
[R4] Any Member that responds to an operation must be 18 years old, so that the organization does not have to assume a guardianship role.
[R5] In order to perform a quality service, Members that respond operationally must meet expectations of ability and professionalism. The SAR Managers are the people most able to judge these qualities.