Pubdate: Tue, 19 Apr 2005
Source: Advocate-Messenger, The (KY)
Copyright: 2005 The Advocate-Messenger
Contact:  http://www.amnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1253
Author: Brenda S. Edwards, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?237 (Drug Dogs)

CASEY BUYING DRUG DOG

LIBERTY - The purchase of a trained dog to sniff out drugs and help in 
searches was approved Monday by Casey Fiscal Court. The cost is $7,500.

The anticipation of extra state inmates with the proposed addition to the 
Casey County Detention Center is one of the reasons for the purchase. It 
also can help the city and county officers, schools, road department and 
emergency medical service personnel when they conduct searches.

Jailer Tommy Miller said drugs are a problem at the jail especially with 
work release inmates.

Judge-Executive Ronald Wright said the county can get a dog that is not 
vicious and that can help track people, and do searches in schools and drug 
raids by the local and county officers. He said the cost for the dog will 
include training, certification and recertification. A deputy jailer will 
be trained and be in charge of the dog. The jailer will have charge of 
scheduling for the dog.

Magistrate Gary Johnson said it's hard to put a price on a child who gets 
lost. "If we can help find one child, and be of help for law enforcement 
officials in the schools, it will be worth it."

Miller said inmates are clever about getting drugs inside the jail, and a 
dog will help deter that. He said if an inmate works in the same area for 
several days in the garden or along roads, he can get drugs dropped off at 
night or when no one is around. A dog can be useful to find the drugs, he said.

While the dog can be used for other searches, it primarily will be for the 
security of the jail, Miller said.

"The jail comes first, but we need to draw up an agreement to allow the dog 
to do searches for the sheriff's department or other law enforcement," he 
added.

The dog will be shipped here from Europe and will take two months to train 
before it arrives in the county, Miller said.
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