The Columbus Division of Police Canine Unit was
established in 1992, with four police officers and one sergeant. In 1998, the
unit was expanded after the Division of Police received a federal grant that
enabled the unit to add an additional four canine teams. In 2020, one officer
and one sergeant were added to the unit as a result of the recommendations made
from the Matrix report. This brought the unit to its current authorized
strength of 11 canine teams. Additionally, the two new canines were the first
explosive trained canines the Division of Police has had.
All the canines are dual purpose trained, which means
they are trained in narcotics or explosive detection, in addition to performing
patrol techniques. Those patrol duties include: tracking, building searches,
area searches, and evidence location.
Since the unit’s inception, the Canine Unit has trained 33
canine teams for police service, with all but the current 11, retired. As of
2021, these canine teams have assisted Patrol/ S.W.A.T/ Narcotics units in seizing
over 147 million dollars in illicit narcotics from the streets of Columbus and
over 26 million dollars of cash and assets. The unit has made or assisted
in over 4500 felony arrests during this period with less than a 2% bite to
arrest ratio. Upon retirement of the canine, each handler has the option of
retaining the canine as a family pet.