Saturday, August 27, 2011

How To Get Traffic | Bite Out Of Crime: Sheriff's Office To Get K-9 Unit

HUNTSVILLE - Walker County Sheriff Clint McRae is proud of the fact that his deputies have recorded more drug-related arrests this past year than ever before in the department's history.

Those numbers should get even better once the Sheriff's Office adds a new secret weapon to the arsenal. The Commissioner's Court has approved the addition of a new detection dog to help start a K-9 unit for Walker County.

McRae hopes to have the unit in place and ready for the field by Oct. 1 and has promoted Deputy John Beeman to become the narcotics detection officer in charge of the new program. In addition, the Sheriff's Office will hire a new deputy to take Beeman's place and buy a Chevrolet Tahoe as a replacement vehicle to transport the dog to crime scenes and traffic stops where there is a suspicion of narcotic activity.

"John Beeman is a good officer who is self-sufficient and pro-active," McRae said. "We felt his personality would be a big hit with the task force. We are excited about the doors that this new K-9 unit will open for our department and we want to thank County Judge Danny Pierce and the commissioner's court for doing this. It will be a great tool for us."

McRae pointed to the growing number of narcotics-related crimes in Walker and the surrounding counties as the need for a police dog to be added to the mix. Nestled along the Interstate 45 corridor between Dallas and Houston, Huntsville and other communities in the area need a leg up in the war on drugs.

The K-9 unit will be used to intercept large quantities of narcotics up and down major roadways and used to assist other agencies.

"This is a need we have had for a while," McRae said. "Before I was elected sheriff, I worked undercover narcotics for the department for 10 years. There used to be narcotic task forces all across the state, but once (Sept. 11, 2001) happened, that money for those task forces got re-dispersed to border security and anti-terrorism. So all the local agencies had to pick up that responsibility without additional man power or funding.

"This new K-9 unit gives us a chance to get back in the game of stopping some of the drug flow."

The right dog for the job

There are different types of breeds and uses for police dogs. Some are used for enforcement (helping detain suspects), search and rescue and illegal substance and cadaver detection.

The Sheriff's Office is looking for a dog that can sniff out illegal substances like methamphetamines, marijuana and cocaine - the three problem drugs plaguing Walker County.

"We want a dog that can detect the narcotics that are causing the biggest problems for our area and we are conducting a survey to determine that," McRae said. "There are certain drugs that are causing a lot of problems because there is a lot of money involved and a lot of demand for them. It will be tough to stop it for good, but we want to put enough pressure on it to keep their heads down."

McRae said the department is contacting vendors and wants a dog that is fully trained so it will be ready to go when the program officially begins. At this point, the breed of the dog does not matter, the Sheriff's Department just wants a one that will be the right fit and hopes to have one in place by mid-September.

"We want to provide out narcotics detection officer with a dog that is ready to hit the ground running," the sheriff added.

The price of police dogs varies between $3,500 to $10,000 depending on how far along they are in their training.

"You get what you pay for - as with everything," McRae said. "The cheaper dogs are barely trained, and you have to do a lot of work with them. Again, we want a dog that is fully trained so it is going to cost more. The big thing we want is to find a vendor close to Walker County because the dog has to be re-certified annually and we want to have easy access to where we have to go for that."

Training for everyone

The new dog is not the only one who will be ready to grab the bull by the horns when the program begins. Beeman is scheduled for three training programs to help prepare him for the new job.

"We want to get this unit started as soon as possible and we want John to have the education he needs," McRae said. "We want to have a fully functioning unit ready to go and John's training will ensure that."

Fighting other crimes

McRae often refers to illegal drugs as the foundation for other crimes in Walker County. Criminals will do anything to get a fix, often stealing and burglarizing homes and businesses of local citizens to help fund their habits.

If the new K-9 unit can put a dent in the drug trade in Walker County, there could be a drop in the other unlawful acts.

"Narcotics is what I call the root of many evils," McRae said. "It causes thefts, robberies, armed robberies, burglaries and property violence. People who deal heavily in narcotics can't maintain a job and they have to get money from somewhere. There is a lot of crimes that spin off narcotics and the K-9 unit can be a deterrent of those as well."

No comments:

Post a Comment