The City of Gluckstadt will have a new addition to its police force in the next month – a K9 who will help deter narcotics from the area.
When Chief Wendall Watts was hired, he brought with him the knowledge, training and previous experience from being a former K9 handler himself during his time with the City of Jackson. One of Watts’ visions for the department was implementing a K9 and K9 officer to assist with daily operations of the department.
At July 11th’s board meeting, Gluckstadt’s Mayor and Board of Aldermen approved the addition of a Belgian Malinois to the police department. The K9 will join the force within 30 to 45 days and come trained and ready to go.
“A canine helps deter crime up to 25 percent in burglary areas and a canine also helps detect narcotics and drugs,” Gluckstadt’s Chief Wendell Watts said. “They are used a lot with criminal interdiction, which is basically looking for drugs being transported on the interstate. The canine helps become a tool in locating and sniffing out narcotics.”
A K9 plays a very important role in law enforcement and is a proven tool to save time and resources. Their keen sense of smell helps them detect items a human officer might miss, especially drugs and bombs. With training, they can even sniff out drugs that are sealed in plastic. They can also be used to search for flammables and explosives.
Working canines are usually on the job starting at their first birthday because it is crucial that they don’t have any bad experiences in their first year. At this time, the canine’s handler has not yet been made public but will be in the coming weeks.
The cost of the dog was $12,000 and the one-year-old has a work life of ten to 14 years – significantly longer than a German Shepherd. Throughout the past year, citizens and organizations have offered donations to help with the cost of the dog, including the Gluckstadt Madison Business Alliance who held its first Stadt Scramble Golf Tournament in May with part of the proceeds going towards raising money to help with the purchase of Gluckstadt’s first police K9.
“I think it’s going to help deter narcotics in Gluckstadt and the Madison county area,” Watts said. “There’s going to be a huge benefit in narcotics being brought into the City of Gluckstadt. We’re looking forward to the handler and the canine getting out on the street and working with other agencies and keeping narcotics off of our interstates and from coming into our city.”
