Underwater Recovery Unit

The Underwater Recovery Unit, formed in 1982, is made up of 9 specially-trained members drawn from across the organization.

In response to our growing population and the influx of tourists which resulted in a growing number of water-related incidents, the unit recovers property, persons or evidence that may potentially be involved in a violation of a Federal or Provincial statute, and assists in the investigation of water related fatalities or accidents.

The Underwater Recovery Team is called upon to conduct diving operations in the various ponds and reservoirs within the region as well as the larger bodies of water such as Lake Simcoe, Musselmens Lake and Lake Wilcox. Diving operations have also been conducted on bodies of water outside of York Region which include Lake Ontario, Lake Scugog and the Rouge River in Toronto.

Initial training for new members is focused on learning the concepts of line searches, evidence recovery, zero visibility diving and tending techniques for both SCUBA & Surface Supplied diving. Divers are required to achieve a level of competency set by the Canadian Standards Association for Occupational SCUBA Diver.

A higher level of competency is required in the area of Surface Supplied (helmet) Diving. The Canadian Standards Association sets this level of Restricted Surface Supplied Diver as well. Once the member has met this standard, more advanced techniques are learned, including confined spaces, ice diving, contaminated environments, rigging & hoisting, lifting submerged vehicles, air crash recovery, and deep air diving, to 165 feet, to name a few.

The unit assists other police services when required and trains on a regular basis to maintain a team-building approach to underwater recovery.