The Canine Program was established to augment police services to the community.  Highly skilled and trained teams of handlers and canines have evolved from the program and are used to supplement police and tactical operations to locate individuals, contraband and to apprehend dangerous criminal offenders.

The police canines are a tremendous asset to the department and community and are often referred to as a force multiplier.  They can do the work of a team of officers in half the time.  Their presence alone on a violent crime call, a felony vehicle stop, or when contacting a group of gang members can gain the compliance of multiple suspects or convince hiding or fleeing suspects to surrender.  The use of canines is imperative in the fight against crime and provides protection for officers and the community.  K9 officers and their partners also conduct numerous demonstrations at community events and schools every year.


Personnel:
The K9 Unit consists of one supervisor and two police officers, both assigned a canine.  Currently, our K9 Unit has one German Shepherd named “Fin” and one Labrador Retriever named “Vertex”.  “Fin” is four years old and was born in Europe.  He is a police service dog primarily responsible for tactical operations to track and locate criminals, crowd control and apprehension of criminals fleeing from officers which are a risk to officers and the public.  Our Labrador Retriever, “Vertex” was born in San Diego and joined the department in 2009.  He is a narcotic detection dog responsible for locating dangerous drugs and narcotics.   
















Accomplishments:
Both canine handlers and their dogs have to go through rigorous training to meet the strict standards of police and K9 work.  Both dogs and handlers are required to complete a month long training course followed with specialized training in either narcotic detection and tracking and apprehension of suspects.  In addition to these courses, the dog and his handler attend monthly training programs to stay certified in their specialized fields of police work.  Besides police work, the dogs also appear at schools and educational events for children and high school students.   When the dogs are not working, they stay with their handler at their homes and eventually will retire as their family pet.