The Tampa Police Department Marine Unit and
Dive Team is responsible
with law enforcement and rescue activities on the waterways in and around
the City of Tampa. The Unit also assists the United States Coast Guard
with "Homeland Security" and the United States Customs Service
with illegal narcotics interdiction. The City of Tampa has a diverse,
marine environment that varies in extreme depth changes, tidal and river
currents and a wide variety of weather conditions. Tampa Bay is
approximately 398 square miles and surrounds the City of Tampa, which is
intersected by the Hillsborough River. The City of Tampa is also home to
the eighth largest seaport in the United States and numerous recreational
boating marinas.
Personnel
The Tampa Police Department is extremely proud of it's Underwater
Search and Recovery Unit and Marine Unit. The Team consists of one
sergeant and eleven officers/corporals/detectives. All members of the
Marine Unit are primary divers and the remainder come from all other
divisions of the police department and are cross trained as marine
officers as well. Most members of the Team are either Instructor or Dive
Master certified. To be a member of the Team, an officer must have at
least two years of experience with the Tampa Police Department. The
officers then go through a rigorous two day tryout and those that pass the
tryout go through an even tougher 40 hour Dive Rescue Class. The Team is
equipped with state of the art dive technology. This includes full-face
masks, wireless communications and dry suits. For extremely contaminated
water dives, the Team has a surface supplied system that includes two
Super-lite 17 Dive Helmets and a hard wire communication system. The Team
is trained in the use of lift bags and the use of underwater metal
detectors.
The Marine Unit is made up of five boats and two personal watercraft.
The "flagship of the fleet" is a
32 foot Donzi ZF boasting twin
outboard engines providing 500 horsepower for quick response and
interdiction tasks. The Donzi is the cutting edge of marine law
enforcement with a gyro-stabilized camera system that is designed for the
marine environment. The camera has a triple sensor (day/night/infra-red)
system with broadcast quality. This system is capable of real time down
link broadcast to all district systems, the mobile command post and a
mobile response vehicle. The remainder of the fleet consists of a 26-foot
Boston Whaler, a 28-foot Goldline, a 19-foot rigid hull inflatable and a
21-foot Carolina Skiff.
The Tampa Police Department Marine Unit and
The Tampa Police Department is extremely proud of it's Underwater
Search and Recovery Unit and Marine Unit. The Team consists of one
sergeant and eleven officers/corporals/detectives. All members of the
Marine Unit are primary divers and the remainder come from all other
divisions of the police department and are cross trained as marine
officers as well. Most members of the Team are either Instructor or Dive
Master certified. To be a member of the Team, an officer must have at
least two years of experience with the Tampa Police Department. The
officers then go through a rigorous two day tryout and those that pass the
tryout go through an even tougher 40 hour Dive Rescue Class. The Team is
equipped with state of the art dive technology. This includes full-face
masks, wireless communications and dry suits. For extremely contaminated
water dives, the Team has a surface supplied system that includes two
Super-lite 17 Dive Helmets and a hard wire communication system. The Team
is trained in the use of lift bags and the use of underwater metal
detectors.
32 foot Donzi ZF boasting twin
outboard engines providing 500 horsepower for quick response and
interdiction tasks. The Donzi is the cutting edge of marine law
enforcement with a gyro-stabilized camera system that is designed for the
marine environment. The camera has a triple sensor (day/night/infra-red)
system with broadcast quality. This system is capable of real time down
link broadcast to all district systems, the mobile command post and a
mobile response vehicle. The remainder of the fleet consists of a 26-foot
Boston Whaler, a 28-foot Goldline, a 19-foot rigid hull inflatable and a
21-foot Carolina Skiff.
