BATTLE MOUNTAIN - If all goes as planned, the beginning of 2013 should see a new narcotics detector dog team hitting the streets of Lander County for the Lander County Sheriff's Office.
Undersheriff Robert Quick is currently writing up new policies and guidelines regarding the new drug dog. He will finish the new policies prior to the handler/dog team being implemented.
The county put $20,000 toward the new program in the FY 2013 budget. That money will go toward the start-up costs and maintenance and care of the dog, said Quick.
Quick also wrote and submitted a grant for $15,000 to the Office of Criminal Justice Assistance for the purchase of the dog and the training and certification for the handler, he said.
If the sheriff's office gets the grant, Quick said he anticipates the purchase of the K-9 and training and certification of the handler and dog to be completed by the end of 2012.
The sheriff's office will do a competitive internal selection process to select the person who will patrol with the dog. It is anticipated that the handler will serve on duty with the dog and then take the dog home at the end of the day.
Quick said the dog, which will be purchased for around $10,000, will come already trained and the deputy will receive training at the kennel from which the dog is purchased. The dog will be considered a single purpose dog, meaning it will only be used for narcotics, explained Quick. Quick is not sure at this point what type of dog the sheriff's office will be purchasing.
Quick is looking at several proven sources that have provided quality dogs and handler training to other law enforcement agencies. The kennels he is looking at are in Illinois, Utah and California.
Handler training will cost around $4,000 and will be conducted for three weeks for the officer to become certified. The handler and dog will train together.
At the end of the three weeks, the handler and K-9 will return to Lander County and be put into use. The deputy will need ongoing monthly training with the dog and will have to go through a recertification process.
The dog will go on patrol with the deputy and will be used for everything from traffic stops and search warrants to checking public buses, I-80 drug interdictions and jail searches.
The K-9 will be used to assist other jurisdictions and the Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP). Currently, Elko and Humboldt County agencies assist Lander County with their drug dogs.
The ultimate goal is for the program to be self-sustaining and paid for through property and money that is confiscated through drug searches, explained Quick. The ongoing cost of the program has not been determined yet.
The sheriff's office will not need to purchase a new vehicle. A current vehicle will be retrofitted to meet the needs of the K-9 team. There will need to be a cordoned off section for the dog as well as separate room to transport someone in custody, said Quick. There will also need to be an adequate cooling system. The cost to upgrade a vehicle is not known at this point but the cost will be minimal, he added.
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