UNDERWATER AGENTS L.A. HAS ITS OWN FBI DIVERS TEAM.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The cool, crystalline surface rippled as nine divers submerged themselves, their masked faces hovering just inches from the bottom.

They could be anywhere: a murky swamp, an icy bay or inside the rusted hull of a cargo ship, looking for evidence of a crime committed or planned - a gun tangled in kelp and sand, a bag of money or a drowned body.

But on Monday, the nine were practicing rescue techniques inside one of the pools at the Aquatic Center of the George Caravalho Sports Complex.

``Our primary mission is evidence collection, and we also help out local law enforcement units that may not have an underwater evidence collection unit,'' said FBI Special Agent George Carr, the unit's senior team leader. ``From June to September, we began working on outstanding cases.''

Since last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Los Angeles division has been bulking up and training its underwater search and evidence response team. Of the 11,000 federal agents worldwide, about 40 agents nationwide take on the extra duty to perform underwater operations. The first team of its kind was formed in New York decades ago, followed by one in Miami.

In Santa Clarita, the divers perfected some foundational work, such as pulling a body out of water, rescuing a diver and performing CPR.

The Los Angeles unit is hoping to expand its current team to about 12 members. A selection process is under way at the FBI training facility in Virginia, but men and women who are certified divers are being courted by other agencies, such as SWAT units nationwide, Carr said.

In a time of heightened concern against terrorist attacks, FBI agents are not saying exactly what prompted the formation of a Los Angeles team. In years past, it usually was the U.S. Coast Guard's or Los Angeles Police Department's diving teams that went on evidence-collection dives.

``We're the new kids on the block. We'd like to build the team bigger,'' Carr said.

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Agent David Hand pretends to drown in a training session with fellow agents Monday at Santa Clarita Aquatic Center.

(2 -- color) FBI agents on Los Angeles' underwater search and evidence response team practice swim rescues Monday in Santa Clarita. Evidence collection is the primary mission of the nine-member unit, whose number the FBI hopes to expand to 12 divers.

(3) Two FBI agents practice rescue techniques - Gerald DeVore, below, is pushing David Hand to the surface - as they work toward their dive master requirements.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer