Systematic-grid search
Definition
An approach that divides the search area into a uniform grid and covers each cell at equal density, used when the deposit location is genuinely unknown or when completeness is required.
Related terms
- Desk-based assessment
- The pre-fieldwork intelligence phase in which investigators review maps, aerial images, witness accounts, and land records to define a search area and...
- Hypothesis-led search
- A search approach that targets specific locations predicted by intelligence or terrain analysis, testing those predictions before expanding to lower-probability areas.
- POLSA
- Police Search Advisor: a specialist role in England and Wales responsible for planning and commanding a search operation, selecting methods, and maintaining...
- Probability mapping
- A spatial analysis technique that assigns relative likelihood scores to grid cells or terrain zones based on accessibility, soil type, offender behaviour...
- Tasking log
- The written record of every instruction, decision, and team action during a search operation. It is a contemporaneous document admissible as evidence...
Explained in
- Search Strategy and PlanningAn approach that divides the search area into a uniform grid and covers each cell at equal density, used when the deposit location is genuinely unknown or when...