News

November 2, 2009

Man’s best friend a future crime-fighter

Vice in training to detect illegal drugs

By Sherry Long slong@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

NANTICOKE – The city’s newest officer has biting abilities, four legs and a tail.

But don’t let that fool you – Vice, a 20-month-old German Shepherd, is not a warm and cuddly puppy.

The four-legged furry officer arrived Oct. 20 and immediately began training locally with his human partner so that they can work together.

Vice is being put through his paces with his handler, Nanticoke police officer Brian Kivler, to learn to detect illegal drugs, track a lost person, search properties and do routine patrol work.

The dog’s status in the police department is no tall tale, either. He is a full-time officer, with his own badge -- number 9072 �. If anyone attempts to harm or kill Vice, they can be prosecuted on a felony charge, Kivler said.

City and school district officials hope Vice will deter drug dealers from entering town and discourage residents from using or purchasing illegal substances.

The Greater Nanticoke Area School District paid $5,500 to purchase the dog for the department, with the understanding that the dog will be brought onto campuses to do occasional locker searches.

The Nanticoke Housing Authority gave the district a $500 check as a contribution toward the K9 unit’s cost, interim executive director and board member Jean Ditzler said. The city is covering Vice’s food costs.

GNA Superintendent Tony Perrone said the district and the police department have a great working relationship and he believes Vice could just be an added deterrent to students thinking about bringing drugs on campus.

“Every school and every community has a need for something like that. … We are going to make sure he is present here at least once a week. Kids will not know when he is coming and we will hopefully be able to keep drugs out of the school,” he said.

Vice and Kivler will not patrol the schools alone. A district or school administrator will accompany the duo. If Vice alerts to a particular area noting drugs might be present, the school official will be able to open lockers so officers can search for any narcotics.

Perrone said he also thinks it’s important for the younger students to be exposed to Vice, adding that he will be serving the community for up to 10 years.

But the department is going to wait until training is fully completed, which might take about two months, before deciding on whether to expose Vice to the district’s younger students, Nanticoke Detective Bill Shultz said.

Kivler said he anticipates that after training Vice could perform demonstrations for the younger students.

He and Shultz emphasize Vice is not being trained to act as a therapy dog, but rather to protect Kivler and track drugs and missing people. The officers want people to know that when they see Vice they should not run up to pet or try to play with him because Vice could interpret that as a threat.

Nanticoke Mayor John Bushko said that Vice, with his superior sense of smell, will be a vital part of police drug busts.

“I think the dog is a big asset. He’ll sniff it out in a minute. It will help make the cops’ job much easier,” Bushko said.

Also, with Nanticoke’s large population of older adults, with three nursing homes inside the city limits, Vice’s ability to track a lost person will come in handy if someone with Alzheimer’s wanders away and becomes lost.

Sherry Long, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7159.

Tweet	Follow @TLnews