The Underwater Recovery Team (URT) is utilized to recover evidence, contraband, bodies or property from beneath water sources that are too deep or would otherwise impede conventional evidence recovery techniques.  Presently, Franklin Police’s URT is the only formal dive team in Williamson County.

Although Franklin has no major lakes, it does have the Harpeth River that is 125 miles long with over 1000 miles of tributaries.  In addition to the Harpeth River, quarries, and farm ponds, there are almost 100 catch basins or small lakes in the various subdivisions throughout Franklin.

Team staffing levels were addressed with the training of four additional divers.  This brings the staffing level from the existing four members to eight members.  This additional staffing will allow for extended operations that would otherwise be hampered by decompression times or inclement weather.

All members of the team are certified as Public Safety Divers and as Underwater Crime Scene Technicians.  They are trained in the use of technical diving equipment not normally used in recreational diving.  In addition to standard scuba, members are trained to use surface supplied air umbilicals, underwater metal detectors, full-face masks, and underwater communications.  As divers may be required to dive in farm ponds, they are trained to use an environmentally sealed rubber dry suit.  Most local dives are performed in zero-visibility “black water” and therefore divers are trained to work off of a tether and search for evidence by feel.