Canines Come Together at Savannah River Site for Detection Trials

Security Police Officer Cody Burger and canine Tarzan conduct an explosives search on a vehicle at the United States Police Canine Association Region 2 Spring Detection Trials. Tarzan and the other Savannah River Site canines are trained to sit when they detect the odor of potential explosive materials, and are then rewarded with a toy after a successful detection.

AIKEN, S.C. — The award-winning Savannah River Site (SRS) Canine Program helped host 27 teams from South Carolina and North Carolina as they participated in annual trials of the nation’s oldest and largest police canine organization.

The United States Police Canine Association conducted its spring canine detection trials for the region at SRS. The event was jointly hosted by the SRS Law Enforcement Department, Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and Aiken Department of Public Safety.

“Centerra has hosted this event with local law enforcement for over 20 years,” said Norris Bunch, supervisor of the canine section of security services contractor Centerra-SRS. “During the trials, participating canine teams are evaluated based on a measured level of proficiency that must be maintained for certification. Each team must demonstrate through various testing events an ability to meet the required standards.”

While the association held explosive detection training and certification at SRS, the narcotics detection training and certification, and cadaver search certification were held at several locations in Aiken.

As the universally accepted certification authority for canine working teams, the association has testing procedures that follow currently accepted police canine practices. To test fairly, law enforcement canine professionals serve as evaluators to observe and document canine team performance.

During trials, narcotics and explosives test sources are hidden on vehicles or in packages and the canine teams must successfully locate the items within a designated time period. Certification of a working canine team is an indicator of successful training and that the team is capable of successfully performing its assigned mission, whether it be explosives, narcotics or cadaver detection.

“Canine teams must be initially tested and certified before being deployed at SRS. After certification, handlers and their dogs are retested on an annual basis to ensure they maintain the proper fundamentals of training and technique,” added Bunch. “At these local trials, all of our SRS canine teams once again achieved certification.”

The SRS Canine Program has earned numerous local, regional and national awards over the years and has been called upon to support local law enforcement and federal agencies, when site missions allow.

“The Canine Program is an important element of our overall security posture at the site and we train constantly to ensure that we maintain a high level of proficiency,” said Bunch. “As a result, we have a very effective and efficient canine program that is fully capable of providing explosives and narcotics detection support at any time.”

-Contributor: Audrey Barron, Rob Davis