The RCMP's drug dog might take his old tricks to different places this fall as the detachment looks for new ways to utilize him.
Dodger, a golden retriever, has been working in city schools and with the detachment for more than four years. He is a single profile drug dog, meaning he is able to sniff out illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy.
Unlike other RCMP dogs, Dodger is meant exclusively to search for drugs and not bombs or fleeing suspects.
Commander Insp. Warren Dosko said while reviewing Dodger's status as part of a review of the school resource officer program, the detachment began to realize there was more he could do.
"It is not that he isn't being used the way he was intended to. It is more that we have a resource there that we can better engage in the policing of the community," he said. "We have this highly trained resource and we tend to focus him more on schools whereas we could use him more in the community."
Dodger and his handler Const. Greg Hawkins are funded in part by both school divisions and the city and Dosko said he will still primarily be a resources for schools, but there are other opportunities.
Dodger can be useful in certain traffic stops where drugs are being transported into the community as well as just out on neighbourhood patrols.
"There are some opportunities to get him involved in some enforcement type activity as opposed to the schools were it is more preventative based."
Unlike the larger German shepherds the RCMP typically use in canine units, Dodger is much more approachable and not threatening and Dosko said he can be a good way to engage with the community.
"He might lick you to death but that would be about it."
Court decision
In 2008, a Supreme Court decision said that random searches using drug detection dogs were unconstitutional. Since then Dodger has been operating on a shorter leash, but he still gets wide spread use in schools under the right circumstances.
Dosko said Dodger has seen less use since that decision and the RCMP are working with schools to find other ways to use him.
He is currently used for selected searches and before students leave on field trips.
School administrators can direct his use in specific instances if there is reasonable belief that drugs might be present. Dodger can also be used under the School Act, rather than under criminal legislation, which would leave students facing suspension rather than criminal charges if Dodger detected drugs.
Dosko said there is a clear understanding of what Dodger can and can't do inside the law.
"There have been some clear guidelines about randomness of drug dog searches so that is something we have to be very careful about," he said. "We think we are on very solid footing to continue to use the drug dog."
