Council approval for K-9

unit makes good sense

Authorizing one of its police officers to create a K-9 unit appears to be a winning decision by the Freehold Borough Council. Recently, the county seat’s governing body gave Patrolman Michael Sweet-man approval to donate his 2-year-old German shepherd, Hunter, for training as a police dog to patrol borough streets, as well as to be used to sniff out narcotics.

Certainly, the venture will be inexpensive enough. The start-up $1,450 cost of getting the K-9 unit operational will be used to outfit a vehicle to transport the dog.

Sweetman, who will serve as the dog’s handler, will receive compensatory time off instead of pay for the extra time required to operate the unit.

Sweetman told the governing body he can operate the K-9 unit for less than $1,000 per year — $850 for housing, food and medical expenses for the dog.

Certainly, K-9 units have proved their worth in other municipalities where they have been employed. Almost every week we read about instances where dogs have been used during drug arrests to expedite the discovery of narcotics, to aid in the tracking of suspects, to find lost persons, and even to serve as bodyguards for their handlers and others in danger.

Sweetman pointed out that K-9 units have been brought into the borough from other jurisdictions from time to time, especially during drug raids, to sniff out illegal narcotics.

The use of Hunter, after his 16 weeks of training as a patrol dog and 10 weeks of training as a narcotics dog, will be a benefit to the borough in its fight against crime, and especially in the war against drugs.

We believe Hunter will prove to be a valuable addition to the borough’s police department now and for the future.