Our K9 teams are highly trained partners who deploy to a variety of calls. When they're not on duty, in training, or tracking a suspect, they can often be found at community outreach events or spending time at home with their families! Bend Police currently have four apprehension K9s and one drug detection K9. All do valuable work for our community.
Bend's K9s are trained to respond to both verbal and non-verbal commands (they will only respond to their handlers). Some of the areas they work in include:
The K9s are trained to locate and apprehend a suspect who is fleeing or hiding. Deploying a K9 to apprehend a suspect increases the level of officer safety, and often provides a much faster resolution to a situation.
Drug Detection
These K9s are responsible for locating narcotics in vehicles, closed packages, in buildings and at crime scenes. They are specially trained to detect specific types of drug odors, and to alert their handler to their presence. As a member of the patrol team, they are able to quickly respond to traffic stops where there may be drugs in a vehicle.
Patrol K9s are often used to track suspects who have fled from officers or crime scenes. They use their incredible sense of smell to detect small changes in surroundings, and/or scent coming from the suspect. Thanks to their acute sense of smell, a K9 can search a building in less than half the time it would take for a team of officers to do the same job. Their skills don't end with suspects however, and they are often deployed to help search for missing people, including children.
Our K9s are often used to locate evidence that may have been tossed by a suspect and which is needed for evidentiary purposes. They are trained to alert to the article, which provides a much quicker and more efficient way of searching an area.
Due to the highly specialized personality traits required of both the K9 and the handler, growing and maintaining a successful K9 program comes with associated costs. The K9 handlers are matched with a dog that has gone through rigorous initial training. The K9 and its handler then must go through extensive initial and ongoing training as a team in order to be certified by the Oregon State Police Canine Association. If you would like to donate to our efforts to grow our K9 program, please email Officer Lotito at llotito@bendoregon.gov or call 541-322-2960 and ask to speak with a K9 officer!
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