Our K-9 Deputies – More Than Just a Pretty Face

The Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office is fortunate that, in addition to our human deputies, we can rely on the talents of our four-footed K-9 deputies. These specially-trained dogs, which have a highly developed sense of smell, can detect specific odors. They can help find a lost child, detect illegal drugs, or search for explosives or firearms. This makes our K-9s highly valued partners.

One way we use our K-9’s skills is in locating a missing person. It is not uncommon for the Sheriff’s Office to respond to calls for help in tracking a missing child, elderly person, or other vulnerable person. In these cases, minutes matter. With the help of our trained K-9s, we can look for that missing person more quickly and effectively than human deputies searching alone.

K-9 deputies help our human deputies in other ways. For subjects who choose not to follow a human deputy's instructions, K-9s can assist with compliance. K-9s are also trained to protect a deputy who may be attacked by a suspect.

Our K-9s assist in other law enforcement duties as well. For example, while a deputy has a person or vehicle stopped for a suspected infraction or offense, the deputy may deploy a K-9 to check for illegal drugs or other illegal items. This is allowed even if the stop was not originally related to illegal drugs or items.

The K-9 handler may direct the K-9 to sniff the air around the vehicle. Depending on what the K-9 communicates to his or her handler, further law enforcement action may be taken. In these cases, the trained K-9’s behavior, as explained by the human deputy, may be used in court as evidence.

By using these techniques, the Sheriff’s Office has successfully removed huge amounts of illegal drugs from our community.

Our K-9s are an integral part of our law enforcement team. With their help, the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office helps make Culpeper County a safer, more secure place to live with our families, friends, and loved ones.