The Indiana State Police has added another four-legged tool in the fight against crime. His name is Dougie, a 2-year-old, black Labrador Retriever with a specially trained ability to sniff out electronic storage devices. Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K-9s can be vital to investigations and have the ability to locate cellular devices, hard drives, flash drives, and micro-SD cards which may hold critical evidence, especially in child exploitation cases.
Dougie was trained by Todd Jordan of Jordan Detection K-9 in Indianapolis and provided to the Indiana State Police in a partnership with kNot Today, a national nonprofit organization, also located in Indianapolis.
Handlers of Electronic Storage Detection K9s undergo a comprehensive 2-week training school to effectively collaborate with their canine partners. They learn systematic methodologies for navigating various scenes, ensuring efficient and accurate operations during investigations. Trained handlers can quickly and precisely identify areas where electronic devices may be hidden, reducing the time spent at the crime scene and increasing the likelihood of gathering crucial evidence and leading to higher success rates in data recovery and analysis. When not utilizing Dougie’s ESD capabilities, he will serve as a therapy canine to both law enforcement officers and the public, such as child victims. Dougie will be assigned to Sergeant Tracy Kunstek.
The Indiana ICAC Task Force encourages Hoosiers to report online exploitation, solicitation, and enticement-type crimes against children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The NCMEC website can be accessed through the ICAC Task Force website. To report a crime with your child as a victim involving the internet or other electronic means, please contact your local Indiana law enforcement agency.
ICAC Taskforce website: https://www.internetcrimesagainstkids.com
