In an ongoing effort to fight crime, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden has welcomed the newest team to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.
Sheriff’s Officer Doug Marino and K-9 Blue, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, graduated from New Jersey State Police K-9 Scent Class No. 34 on June 14 after 14 weeks of training in explosives detection, according to a press release.
“It is an honor to welcome this highly trained K-9 team to our unit. Sheriff’s Officer Marino and his partner Blue will prove to be a great asset to Monmouth County and local police departments,” Golden said.
“K-9 teams are extremely essential when it comes to bolstering homeland security capabilities by playing a vital role in protecting our county against criminal and
terroristic threats, combating the proliferation of drugs, as well as assisting in the apprehension of suspects,” he added.
During the graduation ceremony, which was held in Hamilton Township, 21 teams that had trained in scent, which included 12 explosives teams and nine narcotics teams, received diplomas. The participants met all the requirements established by the New Jersey Office of Attorney General guidelines, according to the press release.
The officers trained in vacant buildings, lots and offices, throughout various counties, and with the U.S. Park Police K-9 and Marine Units at Ellis Island and Liberty Island.
The academy also focused on case law, crime scene preservation, basic obedience, agility,
environmental training and socialization with crowds.
“This has been a great experience for Blue and me and I’m grateful to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office for providing us with this opportunity,” Marino said. “K-9s are
extremely useful in fighting crime and I’m proud to be a part of our explosives detection team.”
In addition, Sheriff’s Officer David Lasko received his certification as a patrol response and scent detection team trainer and Sheriff’s Officer Michael Mindo became certified as a patrol response trainer, according to the press release.
The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit presently consists of eight handlers and nine K-9s. The unit includes two explosives teams, two explosives/patrol teams, three narcotics/patrol teams, one narcotics team and one tracking team.
The teams are called on to assist local police departments with narcotics detection, explosives detection and criminal or missing person searches. In 2018, the K-9 Unit responded to 200 explosives detection calls, 212 tracking calls and 212 narcotics calls, according to the press release.
