Marine Division
The Marine Division is the law enforcement unit that is responsible
for patrolling the waterways of Harris County. This division
is made up of numerous individuals that have knowledge of
the laws of the State of Texas and the Water Safety Act laws,
as well as other laws that affect the boating of water vessels
on Harris County waterways.
 Water
Safety Rules and Regulations
The duties of the Marine Division personnel not only pertain
to making sure that the laws and ordinances are obeyed by
boaters, but extends to all aspects of law enforcement.
The Marine Division responds to all types of offenses, such
as boating accidents, boat thefts, drownings, and the search
and recovery of property.
Search and
Recovery Dive Team
 The
Search and Recovery diver is a highly trained specialist in
the law enforcement profession. The diver must have a good
knowledge of law enforcement and scuba diving. Divers must
also be physically fit and emotionally stable.
A diver can be called to a water scene at any hour of the
day. Each scene has many different challenges and the diver
must prepare himself for either body recovery, evidence recovery
or an accident scene. After the diver leaves the surface he
enters a world of individualism. One must remember the Search
and Recovery diver enters each scene as the only investigative
officer. While encountering the unknown dangers of the dark
waters, and the obstacles and obstructions it holds, the diver
must search each scene with the efficiency of any other crime
scene investigator.
The difference between crime scene investigations and diver
investigations is the diver is restricted to touch. Every
item a diver encounters must be felt and identified, its
location marked and the direction it laid. The items positioning
will determine if that item belongs to that scene. Once
the diver returns to the surface with all the information
he obtained while investigating the underwater scene, he
must transfer from his only note pad, his memory, notes
that would allow others to continue the investigation of
the scene without missing the smallest of details.
Side Scan Sonar images made for pre-dive reconnaissance
for the Sheriff’s Underwater Investigative Dive Unit
(“Dive Team”). This tool enables the Dive Team
to conduct search and recovery operations which might otherwise
have taken days in a matter of hours. It also provides a
photographic quality image of the crime scene before divers
inadvertently disturb crucial evidence of the underwater
crime scene as well as pointing of hazardous conditions
otherwise unknown to the Sheriff’s Divers in black
water conditions. It is used primarily in stolen vehicle
recoveries, drowning victim recoveries, weapon recoveries
and dive scene pre-imaging.
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