Bakersfield Police Department K-9 Unit
About The Bakersfield Police
Department K-9
The Bakersfield Police Department K-9 Unit was established in 1988 with the
first teams being placed into service in January 1989.
The original team consisted of four German shepherd
police dogs which were imported from Europe. The unit
has since expanded in size to its current compliment
of six cross-trained patrol dogs, one labrador retriever which is narcotics detection trained and a bloodhound for tracking/trailing.
During this last seventeen years, the unit has been responsible for thousands of arrests, from burglary to homicide suspects.
Howlin At The Moon Race
The 9th Annual BPD K9 Unit's "Howlin at the Moon" was held on Saturday, August 21, 2010 at the Park at River Walk. This year over 600 runners registered, over half of those registering at the last minute! Due to the overwhelming turnout there was a delay in results being presented.
The biggest surprise of the night was the sprinklers coming on and cooling off several hundred spectators. Luckily everyone took it with a sense of humor. If anyone is a winner and did not get their award, please contact Andrea Pflugh at 326-3685 or apflugh@bakersfieldpd.us.
2010 Howlin At The Moon Race Results
K-9 Unit Demonstrations
The Bakersfield Police Department K-9 Unit frequently provides demonstrations
to the public. These demonstrations showcase many of the units' capabilities.
These demonstrations, which are usually done for schools and benevolent organizations,
can be scheduled by calling
(661) 326-3470.
K-9 & Narcotics Detection
The Bakersfield Police Department police service dogs have been trained and are certified to detect the presence of marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine.
The
ability of the police K-9s to locate concealed narcotics
contraband rests with two major qualities which are
inherent in the police service dog. The first is the
dog's amazing olfactory (sense of smell) capability.
When the remarkable sense is coupled with the dog's
strong play and hunting drives, the dogs are taught to associate
the scent of specific narcotics with their "reward" or "toy." To
earn this reward, the dogs are trained to search boxes,
rooms, yards, automobiles, and any other locations
where there is a likelihood someone may have concealed
narcotics contraband. An effort is made to prevent
the dog from coming into direct contact with any of
these drugs as these drugs are as poisonous to dogs
as they are to humans. Suspects sometimes use distraction
scents to mask the odor of narcotics contraband in
an attempt to foil the detection capabilities of the
animals. However, for the most part, these efforts
have failed as documented by the hundreds and hundreds
of pounds of seized narcotics contraband which were
destined for street-level sales.
A General History of K-9 And Law Enforcement
Law
enforcement agencies throughout the world have long
recognized the value of properly trained police service
dogs. These animals, when appropriately utilized, have
time and time again proved themselves instrumental
in achieving the objectives and missions of the law
enforcement agency.
The police K-9, due to its strength, agility, courage, and amazing olfactory capabilities can be utilized to assist law enforcement in various tasks in a more thorough and efficient manner.
Because of these attributes, police service dogs can be utilized to assist in searching for potentially violent criminals, aid in the apprehension of fleeing criminals who may place innocent community members or other police officers at risk of injury. The dogs also offer the department an effective public relations tool to disseminate information about the police department's mission/functions/crime fighting efforts. In potentially dangerous situations, the police K-9 can often assume the risk by preventing exposure of a police officer to a violent confrontation. And finally, since all the K-9s are trained to detect narcotics contraband, they have located literally hundreds and hundreds of pounds of marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin.
