ABSTRACT
Within the American model, bomb disposal will be located in a variety of places on agency organizational charts. As the overwhelming majority of bomb squads in the United States are part-time units, and assignment is a secondary assignment for the bomb technician, many squads are located for convenience where the senior or supervisory technician is assigned. Most commonly, bomb squads appear to be a component of the hazardous materials function of a fire agency. Many agencies have situated their bomb disposal function within the investigative services area, often under a "lesser" eld such as auto theft. Bomb technicians, like practitioners of various criminalistics fields, are technically oriented problem solvers; administratively, it makes their supervision easier by keeping like minds within the same branches of the organizational tree. In addition to agency level standard operating procedures, a bomb squad should maintain internal operating guidelines.
