K-9 Unit
OVERVIEW & PURPOSE:
The Uniform Patrol Bureau of the Lake County Sheriff's Office contains several specialized units. These units answer calls for service or respond to emergencies that would be impossible or impractical for regular Road Patrol Deputies to handle.
SPECIALIZED DEPUTIES:
The Deputies that work in these units are "Special" deputies. That is, they specialize in a particular area of the law enforcement scope of operation. This span of operation is dictated by the variety of calls for service received from the public. These special units absorb all calls for service, investigations or emergencies that can not be handled by the other divisions.
THE UNIT:
Today's law enforcement is charged with a constantly changing scope of operation. The Lake County Sheriff's Office strives to be prepared for these types of changes and doing so, requires the use and deployment of Specialized Units to meet the needs of our community.
One of such is the K-9 Unit. The K-9 Unit is comprised of experienced deputies, who have proven their knowledge and skills, and through a selection process, have been assigned to these specialized duties. The K-9 Unit is made up of nine German Shepherds who are highly trained in a variety of tasks. Due to the hostile environment they are exposed to, these dogs are not the common house pet. They are hand selected in Europe for the Lake County Sheriff's Office and imported for their courage, sound mental and physical strengths.
Once the selection of the deputy and canine has been made for this program, they must undergo extensive training together. The State of Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC) requires law enforcement canine teams complete a 400 hours training course in patrol dog operation. In addition, the Sheriff Office requires an intensive drug detection course for the teams. These teams must demonstrate and certify in their proficiencies once a year by meeting the CJSTC standards. The K-9 Unit trains weekly, as a unit, and together they address different types of scenarios the members have encountered throughout the course of their duties. This training extremely time consuming is conducted by our own in house trainer saving the citizens of Lake County the cost of outsourcing.
Upon completion of selection and their basic canine training, the teams are assigned to the Uniform Patrol Bureau of the Sheriff's Office. The K-9 Unit operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week providing support for the Uniform Patrol deputies and assisting other agencies with their highly trained specialized skills.
The citizens, visitors and businesses of Lake County can be assured that when the need arises, The Lake County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit will be ready for the challenge.
READY TO RESPOND:
These units are directly attached to the Uniform Patrol Bureau of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. In the event of a major emergency, natural disaster or any other critical event, all or part of the specialized units make up Special Operations are activated to handle or assist in the response to such an event.
2024 | Lake County Sheriff's Office | All rights reserved
The Lake County Sheriff's Office is an equal opportunity employer
