AKRON POLICE K-9 HISTORY
Police dogs, K-9s, have a long history in the Akron Police Department. Fifty years ago, in 1962, two Akron police officers were sent to a K-9 training program to learn to be qualified dog handlers. They were each to train a dog, and then come back to Akron and train other officers and dogs.  This group of officers would then form a K-9 unit within the Akron Police Department.

On February 11, 1963, a K-9 training program was started in the Akron Police Department. Five Akron officers, selected from a group of volunteers, and five dogs entered the training program which was conducted by the original K9 officer.

The officers and their dogs worked together to develop mutual trust and affection in order to become an effective team. Not only did the dogs go through intensive training in all of the duties required of them, each officer went through the same grueling training to become an accomplished handler.

ON DUTY
June 15, 1963, the Akron Police K-9 Unit went on duty. What should have been an important occasion in the history of the Akron Police Department became, instead, one of the great controversies, and proved that regardless of good intentions, police actions are often viewed with suspicion by the community.

Unfortunately, during the civil strife of the 1950s and 60s, police in the deep South had used police dogs to control crowds of demonstrators. Actions by the police during those times caused many people in Akron to question the use of dogs here. The problem was finally resolved when an order was issued prohibiting the use of K-9s to control any public gathering.

Once on the street, Akron's dogs went about the duties they were trained for. No longer did a police officer need to go into a dark building to search for burglars, a dog was sent in to do the job. Dogs were also used to search for missing children and for evidence, and to protect their handlers in dangerous situations. One downside of the program was that the dogs were not social creatures. Their training required them to be loyal to only one master and to reject any overture of friendliness from anyone else.

The K-9 Unit was a viable part of the Akron Police Department for almost seven years before being disbanded. Many factors entered into the decision to disband the unit, not the least of which was money. The police department was in the middle of a program to increase the strength of the department by two hundred additional officers; most of the original dogs were still active but because of their age and physical condition, would soon need to be replaced; most of the original officers wanted to go on with their careers in other assignments; and, the public had still not completely accepted the K-9 Unit.

TODAY
Society has changed greatly since 1970 and, with those changes, has come a whole different criminal element. Compared to the crime problems of the 1960's and 70's when many criminals committed crimes as a way of making a living, the 1990's breed of criminal is often driven by a desire to steal enough to support a drug habit. Added to the police problems inherent in dealing with drug driven offenders, is the additional problem of drug use by many otherwise honest citizens.

Preying on both classes of drug addicted people is the third criminal type, the individual who provides the drugs. Encouraged by the vast amount of money that the drug business generates, there is never a lack of people willing to risk prison, or worse, to provide the drugs.

Because there is no end to the inventive ways narcotics are hidden and
transported, the police desperately needed a reliable way to detect the illegal drugs once they stopped a suspect vehicle searched a house or building, stopped a suspected courier or in many other circumstances found themselves in a situation where illegal drugs were suspected. The simple answer to the police problem was the use of highly trained drug-detection dogs and handlers qualified to use them.

The Akron Police Department went back into the K-9 business in December, 1991, when two police officer handlers and their dogs were assigned to the Narcotics Detail. Unlike the earlier K-9 program, which had very little public support, this new program has excellent public support. The new unit has two primary duties, both very important. The first duty of the K-9 Unit is drug interdiction and the second duty is working with the public to build their support for law enforcement actions against the drug problem.

Where the first K-9s were trained as attack dogs and could only be controlled by their handlers, the present animals are big, happy, friendly dogs instantly liked by almost everyone they are around. All the members of the K-9 Unit train once a week using specially trained officers to assist by playing the bad guys and taking bites from the dogs while wearing special suits and equipment.

The question is often asked, "What happens to the dogs when they are too old to work?" Unlike attack dogs, these dogs are family pets. On average, their working life as a drug-detection dog is between five and eight years after which each officer/handler can keep the dog as his own if he/she so wishes.

Current Akron Police Departement K-9 Roster:

Officer Armstead with Mylo (Belgian Malinois)	Detective Carney with Cruiser (Yellow Labrador)
Sergeant Davis with Lenny (Belgian Malinois)	Sergeant Dorn with Harley (German Shepherd)
Officer Edsall with Bronson (Belgian Malinois)	Detective Jones with Midnite (Black Labrador)
Officer McConnell with Recon (Belgian Malinois)	Officer Metzger with Riggs (German Shepard)