This is a LKL Web Exclusive by Richard Subia, Deputy
Director, Division of Adult Institutions at the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Richard is a guest TONIGHT on Larry King Live.
The opinions expressed below are his own and we welcome your
comments.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
has been using dogs to find narcotics for several years.
But with the ban on tobacco products and the growing problem of
contraband cell phones, I wanted to see if dogs could be used
to find tobacco and cell phones. I contacted Sgt. Wayne Conrad and asked
for his help. Sgt. Conrad handles CDCR's dog training program. Once he
was able to determine that cell phones did indeed have a unique odor, he
developed a training plan.
The biggest obstacle to starting the K-9 p program was money. With
California's budget problems, there was none. Sgt. Conrad knew he
wanted to use the Belgian Malinois breed because of their excellent
focus and personalities, so he contacted the Belgian Malinois Rescue
group. They put him in touch with Debbie Skinner, a nationally known
breeder and part of the rescue group. In February 2009, she suggested
5-year-old Caesar to Wayne. For just a small pet adoption fee of $300,
Caesar became the first dog in the contraband detection program.
In August 2009, Drako was added to the program based on Caesar's
success. Drako was donated to the program by Debbie at no cost. His
training began in September 2009. He has been in service for nearly a
year.
Training for these dogs is managed by Sgt. Conrad at the Richard A.
McGee Training Center in Galt, California. The center conducts the basic
correctional officer and parole agent training academies. Each dog much
successfully pass the department's 160-hour detection training. The dogs
are trained to detect marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines,
tobacco and cell phones.
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