Maryland State Police Press Release
FIRST STATE POLICE ‘PERSON-BORNE’ EXPLOSIVE DETECTION DOGS GRADUATE
A special graduation ceremony today made the Maryland State Police the first state police agency in the country to have ‘person-borne’ explosive detection dogs among its ranks, continuing Maryland’s efforts to be a national leader in homeland security.
State Police officials presented diplomas to four Maryland State Police troopers and their K9 partners to mark the completion of 12 weeks of intense training. In addition to the usual training of how to detect explosives planted in cars, buildings, or open areas, these teams were trained in how to detect explosive material carried by a person. The goal of these new teams is to identify the person carrying the explosives before he or she reaches their destination of where they intend to plant the bomb.
This new level of training puts these teams in the top tier of explosive detection dogs in the country. Most bomb detection dog teams are trained in how to search open areas, the interiors and exteriors of buildings, vehicles, and luggage, where explosives might be hidden. Person-borne explosives training has enabled these detection dogs to be alert for the scent of explosives emanating from a person passing by, or walking ahead of them in a crowd. The dogs have been trained to scan the air and then follow the scent of the explosive material as it moves with the person carrying the bomb.
The importance of this detection ability is obvious, especially as it relates to Maryland’s homeland security efforts. These teams are already scheduled to work upcoming events where large numbers of people will be gathering or moving about. Citizens will notice nothing different about how these teams do their jobs.
“One of our most important strategic goals since the beginning of the O’Malley-Brown Administration has been improving Maryland’s homeland security capabilities in order to more effectively protect our citizens,” Governor Martin O’Malley said. “The addition of these new teams is evidence of our continuing commitment in this area as we continually work to improve public safety, the most important service government can provide.”
“The use of well-trained K9 teams is a valuable and vital resource for law enforcement agencies,” Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Marcus L. Brown said. “These teams will be deployed throughout our state to be on the front lines of our homeland security work as we endeavor each day to fight crime and protect our citizens from acts of terrorism.”
This initiative was made possible through a partnership with the US Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) and their Explosives Detection Canine Program. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), under contract from DHS S&T, assisted in managing the program and will continue to track the success of this new initiative. The explosives detection training was provided by APL and K2 Solutions, Inc., of North Carolina. This team, supported by DHS S&T, will continue follow-up training and support to the teams. All four K9 teams were certified by the International Police Work Dog Association.
Two of the K9 units will be assigned to the Maryland State Police Special Operations Division. The other two will be assigned to the Frederick and Glen Burnie barracks. All four will be available for statewide response if needed.
A fifth K9 team also graduated today and will be assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The dog was previously used by the Maryland State Police as a basic bomb detection dog. The dog received retraining through the State Police in basic explosives detection, along with his new handler, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Ed Ernst. State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci and Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray presented a graduation certificate to Senior Deputy Ernst. The team will be assigned to the Western Region.
