MEMORANDUM

Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Police Department

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Anthony Brixius, Patrol Captain
CC:	Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
	Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager
	Tarik Khatib, Chief of Police
DATE:	12/29/2014
RE:	Police Service Dog (PSD) Program

Background

For well over a century, Police Service Dogs (PSDs) have been an effective tool in the apprehension of criminals, discovery of evidence, location of lost individuals, and the safety of law enforcement personnel. Currently, the Lawrence Police Department calls upon outside agencies for the use of PSDs for various tasks and does so multiple times each week. Recent examples of PSD use in Lawrence include the search for a suspect in a homicide against a Topeka Police Officer, the search and recovery of a firearm used in a robbery and carjacking, as well as assistance in searches for illegal narcotics. These frequent requests, although much needed, impact the assisting agency’s resources and may eventually begin to limit the ability of the Department to continue to access the PSDs. Through the implementation of a PSD program, the Department will have the capability to properly and safely search for suspects or missing persons, conduct high risk building searches, assist officers in tracking, and detect illegal narcotics.

Presentation of Data

The Lawrence Police Department currently participates in the Benchmark City Survey in an attempt to measure the Department against comparable agencies. Of the 30 cities that participated in the survey in 2013, only Lawrence and Boulder, Colorado do not have a PSD program. It should be noted Boulder County, Colorado has the 2^nd oldest PSD program in the state of Colorado and currently has five dogs in their unit. This leaves the Lawrence Police Department as the only agency within the comparable cities without access to a PSD in its county.

Currently, the Department does not have a mechanism for tracking the number of times PSDs have been requested or could have been used by the approximately 120 members of the Patrol and Detective Divisions. A sample of their effectiveness and need can be derived from the requests made by two patrol officers currently assigned to criminal interdiction duties. As part of their duties, the officers’ conduct vehicle stops to identify the traveling criminal and violent offenders as well as interdict postal/parcel packages and large amounts of illegal narcotics traveling to Lawrence on buses (Lawrence has become a preferred disembarking point for wanted individuals or those engaging in criminal activity due to established interdiction programs in neighboring metropolitan areas). From April, 2014 through November, 2014, the officers requested a PSD on 211 occasions. A PSD was able to respond 53 times. With the assistance of the PSDs, the officers have been able to seize large amounts of illegal narcotics and discovered other crimes, such as a financial card scheme involving nearly $100,000 in fraudulent gift cards.

Discussion

While these types of seizures are notable and certainly tangible, the capability of a PSD to track a missing child or at-risk adult is invaluable. The Department’s inability to perform these functions in a timely manner is a weakness in its preparedness. Another weakness pertains to community and officer safety.

Police officers enter their profession knowing there is a large element of danger. However, a PSD program has the ability to mitigate some of the danger in many instances. These include when searching buildings for suspects or searching large areas where a violent offender (sometimes armed with a weapon) may be lying in wait. A PSD would also be of great assistance when tracking an actively fleeing individual who has committed violent acts and would further protect the officers when the actual encounter with the violent offender occurs. Additionally, the PSD’s ability to locate articles of evidence saves personnel hours and the detection of such evidence may be the difference in the successful prosecution of the case. Depending on the item being search for – a weapon or drugs – community safety is impacted if the item is located in a timely manner rather than left to be discovered by someone else. All of these scenarios play out on a regular basis in Lawrence.

Community expectations weigh heavily on the desire for a PSD program as well. The most common community reaction the Department has received when informally discussing the lack of PSDs in Lawrence has been one of surprise that there isn’t one. As a department, we cannot account for the monetary value of the previously listed assistance a PSD will provide. Regardless, there will be an expectation from the community for the Department to have the adequate tools to handle these types of situations. With the implementation of a PSD program, the Department will be much better prepared in its efforts to meet and surpass these community expectations.

Training and Implementation

The Kansas Highway Patrol has an excellent PSD training program. There are several advantages to utilization of this program:

· The certification comes from a recognized agency and within the State of Kansas.

· The training program is free.

· The Topeka Police Department uses the same certification and has volunteered the use of their training facilities for ongoing training if we implement a PSD program.

If the Department where to move forward with a PSD program, there are several things that need to take place:

· A selection process for officers and selection of supervision.

· Contacting kennels for selection of a PSD.

· Selecting a local veterinarian and boarding service for contract.

· Finalization of policy and procedures for the program.

Policy

For your review and consideration, two documents are attached to this memorandum:

1. A policy for a PSD program which has been reviewed by a City Attorney.

2. An Operations manual for a PSD program for the Lawrence Police Department.

Budget and Funding

A PSD has an approximate cost of $9,500. Additionally, there are several startup costs for equipment including outfitting a vehicle, officer, and having the appropriate care materials for the PSD. The cost for each handler/PSD combination is approximately $6,500.

Each PSD requires its own vehicle. Although not ideal, the Department has the capability to draw from existing vehicles within the fleet and outfit the vehicles as needed during a proof of concept period if desired. The better option, based on the need to begin the program properly, would be to purchase new vehicles for each PSD unit. Equipped as such, each PSD vehicle is estimated to cost approximately $45,000.

At the onset and as part of a proof of concept period, it is believed the Department can utilize existing patrol personnel resources to staff the PSD program as the assignment will be most commonly utilized by the Patrol Division. If the program appears to be successful, the more appropriate long term solution would be to add additional police officer positions for each PSD.

Various cost options exist (both examples are for two PSDs as recommended for coverage and availability):

Option 1: Existing vehicles and personnel

Item	Cost
Cost of PSDs (2)	$19,000
Equipment	$13,000
Annual Veterinary and Food¹	$4,000
Total	$36,000

Option 2: Existing personnel and new vehicles

Item	Cost
Cost of PSDs (2)	$19,000
Equipment	$13,000
Annual Veterinary and Food¹	$4,000
Vehicles (2)	$90,000
Total	$126,000

Option 3: New personnel and vehicles

Item	Cost
Cost of PSDs (2)	$19,000
Equipment	$13,000
Annual Veterinary and Food¹	$4,000
Vehicles (2)	$90,000
Officers (2)²	$144,946
Total	$270,946

¹ Several veterinarians have volunteered to donate some service for a PSD program.

² Estimated 2015 salary, benefit, and equipment costs.

Funding sources for Option #1 of the PSD program include the Department’s 2015 equipment budget or expenditure of City equipment reserve monies. Options #2 and #3 would require equipment reserve expenditures along with additional budgetary authority (officer positions).

Recommendation

It is recommended the Department consider the implementation of a PSD program beginning with two dogs. This would ensure the proper coverage and availability of the PSDs. Ultimately, the PSD program may need to have additional PSDs, however, two would be the minimum recommended as the conceptual program is evaluated.