Dive Team


The Marin County Sheriff's Office Dive Team provides services to the local waterways of Marin County, as well as mutual aid throughout the Bay Area.


The Marin County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team is made up of 10 members and a commander. All of the members are full-time sworn deputy sheriffs devoted to providing professional level diving services to all of Marin County. Public Safety Divers perform underwater search and recovery of drowning victims or evidence of crimes in addition to providing services to other counties within California and are available to assist in rescue operations. 

The dive team was first formed using volunteers. In the early to mid-1980’s, the team was converted to full-time sworn deputies. At that time it consisted of 4 divers using their own equipment and no formal underwater search and rescue training. Since then, members attend monthly training; dive operations are typically done in cold water with little to no visibility and a high probability of entanglement, members perform extensive training to make sure divers are as safe as possible. All members are public safety divers and have completed ERD1 Emergency Rescue Diver 1 training. 

Through donations and public safety state grants, the Marin County Sheriff’s Dive Team outfits each member with modern dive gear including but not limited to dry-suits, buoyancy control device (BCD) and full face masks. Divers use a hard wired surface to diver / diver to diver communication system and an underwater Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) to assist in dive operations. One of the most recent acquisitions will enable the Dive Team to transition to surface supplied air using a diver’s umbilical and a Surface Supplied Breathing Apparatus (SSBA). 

Marin County Sheriff’s Dive Team’s equipment is top of the line and has dedicated utility vehicles for training or in the event of a call out. Dive team’s current vehicles are a utility van (retired ambulance) and a 4X4 F350 with a 25 foot trailer. Marin County Sheriff’s Dive Team is an integral component with the Marine Patrol. Members have trained with other agencies including Southern Marin Fire Department, Contra Costa County and the California Highway Patrol. Contra Costa County, Sonoma County and California Highway Patrol have helicopters that were utilized to shuttle divers from the shore to the middle of the bay.

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