Here's what bugs me. The teams are already set in place. The dogs, and other equipment are already in service. It takes very little to maintain what has already been set up as opposed to creating a K9 unit.

One good vehicle seizure per team, per year would pay for a new dog, its' food and vet bills, and possibly some of the incurred overtime for home care. We're talking only ONE hoopd a year. Add to that the obligatory cash that goes with the drug trade and you're golden.

Now, assuming that not every dog is replaced every year (of course not!)...then making the yearly nut is a peice of cake. Every handler is told dozens of times a year about the big player drug dealer in his/her area that they work. Some time invested investigating those complaints, or interstate interdiction can yield a jackpot. Boom,,,you've covered your yearly obligation..or someone else who might need it. Simple enough.

Yea yea, I know the argument from the city attorney..."once your existence depends upon this performance then there is opportunity for officers to become corrupt"...Hell, you can say that about every unit at the PD.

Howard

Last month (January)K9 alone was responsible for over $250,000 seized. it's probably why they aren't going to reduce our numbers. We are a 45 dog unit. We aren't adding anything this year though. I can understand when you are talking possible layoffs for up to 2,000 state workers, it's difficult to justify growth. It's a delicate balance and one I don't envy the Governor having to do the balancing act. Fortunately, I don't think we'll have to retire any dogs this year. Dog food, vet services and equipment is already budgeted (dog food alone costs over 16 grand a year.) In spite of the frustrations, I think we should consider ourselves kind of lucky.

DFrost

Sadley this has been a trend in the Uk for several years now. Dog units are being downsized at an alarming rate, they are considered to not be cost effective.

It's a shame some don't see the effectiveness of K9's and they tend to be some of the farthest removed from what really happens on the streets . For us I think the savings is only going to be about $20,000(I think that's what was quoted) cutting 5 K9's . That's mostly premium pay and vet bills I think . Here handlers pay for their food and our K9 foundation pays for alot of stuff that the department used to .

For now we are just crossing our fingers . I hope our country doesn't go the way the UK's going . With the crime rate that's sure to grow we will need them more then ever .

You can make number say anything you want. It all depends upon the goal. 127 grand for 4 teams is a joke. They must be figuring the officer's salary in that. If the handler stays employed then that number is way off.

Howard

Howard stated:

 Quote:

You can make number say anything you want. It all depends upon the goal. 127 grand for 4 teams is a joke. They must be figuring the officer's salary in that. If the handler stays employed then that number is way off.

That was part of my reason for starting this thread . I think some of the things every K9 Unit in the country should be doing is preparing their own budget figures concerning their K9 unit , building support amongst their community , local government and within their own agency ,in preparation for an upcoming cut . Even if 1 doesn't come . As others have added having records of seizures that add to the city or local governments , stats on arrests , finds of evidence , missing persons , etc. will help also .

I can just tell others from my recent experiance, I feel it's important to do this well ahead of time . Proposals and ideas came fast and furious here as well as the descisions . Having a quick reply to faulty statistics and stopping the momentum(sp?) of these suggestions could help alot.

Our agency is hard pressed for ideas for dealing with these cuts . They need to show the mayor , city council and it's citizens that they are doing everything they can do keep the city safe .

I'm sure one thing that looks good on paper concerning our 5 k9's that might be cut is the department saying they added the 5 former k9 officers back to patrol to help supplement the dwindling numbers of officers answering calls due to the hiring freeze and impending retirements . When in reality all they did was take away a great tool (the K9) from an officer(5 in our case) that were already working the street and answering calls .

 Quote: Jim Nash

.... I think some of the things every K9 Unit in the country should be doing is preparing their own budget figures concerning their K9 unit , building support amongst their community , local government and within their own agency ,in preparation for an upcoming cut . Even if 1 doesn't come . As others have added having records of seizures that add to the city or local governments , stats on arrests , finds of evidence , missing persons , etc. will help also .

These might help a little, too:
http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=8&Number=223295&Searchpage=1&Main=21970&Words=+Ed+Frawley&topic=0&Search=true#Post223127