Posts
K-9 Unit Item 6B.pdf
Excerpt from the minutes:
Discussion of Police K-9 Proposal – Chief Ostrenga had been approached by several members of the department with a proposal to form a K-9 unit. This idea was originally presented to the commission in 2007, at which time the commission was not opposed to the idea, but there were concerns about the necessity of forming such a unit. With the increased liability associated with bringing a strange dog into our jurisdiction, it makes more sense to have our own. The dog chosen for this assignment would be a drug sniffing and search dog, not an aggressive bite-type dog. Discussion included the following: boost in officer morale, insurance liability, mutual aid liability, approval of bargaining unit and the officer flexing his schedule to avoid overtime.
Thoughts? Do we need it? Are the reasons noted in the minutes sufficient?
Link to the Feb. 23, 2009 minutes: http://www.monona.wi.us/vertical/Sites/%7B4EF64B30-DEE6-486B-A007-DF1B9404319B%7D/uploads/%7B0BB06035-B69F-4410-A4F5-B0220F8261E3%7D.PDF
Where can one get statistics on how many times per year the Monona police use a canine unit (with a borrowed dog) and for what purposes? Where might one find out how many other communities with a population of 8000 people have canine units and the statistics re. their use?
ReplyDeleteAs a taxpayer, regarding morale issues, I'd rather contribute to a program providing animals for the morale of the elderly than for the morale of the police officers. If it is improved morale that Monona police officers want, I should think bringing their own dogs to work would be a better solution.
Or is "bringing your dog to work" as unusual and foreign as the concept of urban chickens? Sorry, being snarky is probably inappropriate in this case. I know that canine units and chicken ordinances are not parallel issues. I just cannot understand why some segments of Monona citizenry get more respectful and seemingly legitimate responses for their requests than other segments.
Thanks Marena. I have a number of questions about this proposal. Basically being related to 'do we need it and how much will it cost?'
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to the Madison K-9 unit of six dogs.
http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/specialunits/k9/
Is this a solution looking for a problem?
ReplyDeleteI am a bit concerned that the cost analysis will be biased if this is soemthing the PD wants because they think it would be neat. What happens if the dog is called and that officer already has 40 hours in for the week? Also, what will the guidelines be for deploying the canine? I'd also like to see some crime statistics that would warrant this. How often do we call for a dog from another department? Are we worried about crack houses in Monona? Has our high school administration asked for dog patrols? I have yet to hear anyone in Monona complain that we have a drug problem.
Good questions. I would add that we have illegal use drug use like any place else, esp. in an urban area. The question is whether we need our own police dog to deal with it and other issues.
ReplyDeleteI think Monona should look into getting one of these if the procurement program is still open.
ReplyDeleteI think De Forest paid less than
1K for this vehicle if I recall the story correctly as seen on WMTV
http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/50873122.html
ReplyDeleteI forgot to include this link with my previous post. This is the vehicle DeForest purchased for their PD.