Estevan police Chief Paul Ladouceur is a big fan of the police dog program, and he hopes the K-9 unit will remain part of the Estevan Police Service
(EPS).
But it’s not a guarantee. And the K-9 unit could be different moving forward.
The Estevan Police Service’s (EPS) long-time drug detector dog, Harvey, retired earlier this month after nine years of service. Harvey had been partnered with Acting Sergeant Tyler McMillen since Harvey arrived from Winnipeg.
Harvey has been sold to McMillen’s family, allowing the dog to spend his retirement years with his handler and in familiar surroundings.
“The dog is obviously comfortable with that family,” said Ladouceur.
But Harvey’s retirement leaves the EPS without an in-house police dog. They will have access to the K-9 services from the RCMP and other policing agencies.
“There’s certainly more of a convenience by having a dog in-house, without a doubt, but certainly we have access to dogs if we need them,” said Ladouceur.
Ladouceur said the K-9 unit has a lot of benefits. In Harvey’s case, he was a drug dog, so his role was with detection. But there are also mixed service dogs, which can be used for tracking purposes, along with the defence of civilians and police officers.
“Some police services have strictly a tracking dog, which the dog tracks suspects and evidence,” said Ladouceur. “If a bank robbery occurs, and the suspect throws away a piece of clothing while they’re running, then the dog would be called in to track for evidence.”
It can be used to track a missing person, such as a child who has wandered away from home. And they can provide protection for police from a suspect.
Police service dogs are also beneficial for public relations.
“We get more feedback on the dog, probably, than any other component of the police service,” said Ladouceur. “Saying on Twitter that Harvey is having his retirement party, the amount of hits we get on that comment … is phenomenal.”
A police dog is also great for interacting with children and schools.
The purchase and training of a new police dog would need to be included in next year’s police budget. Then it will take time to acquire a dog, and train the dog and its handler. So Estevan won’t have an in-house dog for some time.
McMillen is the only trained handler currently in the EPS, but Ladouceur expects a different officer would be the next handler.
If the dog program is continued, the chief believes they would also look at having a multi-purpose dog, as opposed to a drug detector dog, so the EPS can have a greater scope of service from the program.
