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| Under the new Administration, three K-9
teams were added to the force. Two teams are patrol
teams consisting of a Sheriff’s Officer and a Police Dog
each. These two teams will be used for routine patrol
such as building searches, property checks, field and
open searches, wooded area searches, article searches,
tracking, and criminal apprehension. The third team is a
Canine Specialty team consisting of a Sheriff’s Officer
handler and a specialty dog which will be used
specifically for tracking. This specialty dog, which
currently is a Bloodhound, has been selected to
represent and promote the program called Project
Lifesaver. |
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| The Atlantic County Sheriff's Office has
two new officers as of this date. They have weighed in
at 62 pounds and 41 pounds respectively, but the weight
of the unit they will head will be a tremendous asset to
the entire law enforcement community in Atlantic County.
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| Atlantic County Sheriff Frank Balles
appeared before the Board of Chosen Freeholders on
Tuesday, February 3rd to ask them to pass a resolution
accepting the donation of two canines for the purpose of
resurrecting the K-9 unit at the Atlantic County
Sheriff’s Office. As promised during his run for office,
Balles was able to get the two dogs donated at no cost
to the taxpayers of Atlantic County. “I am very proud to
be able to make this a reality within the first thirty
days,” Balles said. |
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| Dillinger, a Belgian Malinois Shepherd,
was donated by Pleasantville Police K-9 Sgt. Danny
Harper. Harper a certified K- 9 Trainer acquired the dog
and began training him, immediately thinking of the
goals of the new Sheriff. Dillinger and his handler,
Sheriff’s Officer Ron Demoulin, will begin the 16 week
K-9 training class this March. The new partners will
train in the field of patrol tactics and narcotic
detection. |
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| Luke, (aka. Luke the Lifesaver) a
Bloodhound, was donated by Robert Stevens of Douglas,
MA. K-9 Luke and his handler, Sheriff’s Officer Eric
Milne, will begin training during the last week of
February. The 12 week training will take place at the
Cape May County K-9 Training Academy. When they have
completed their training, they will report to the
Community Policing Division of the Sheriff’s Office.
This K-9 Team will be a tremendous asset the Project
Lifesaver Program with assisting officers in the
location of missing Alzheimer’s patients, tracking of
criminals, as well as school educational programs. |
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"I cannot thank the people
involved in the success of this program enough”,
Balles said. “It has been a team effort from
Sheriff’s Officer Milne driving to Massachusetts
and picking up the dog, to the Freeholder Board
allowing this program to proceed. The world is
full of people who want to help when given the
opportunity. This will enable the County to
better help its residents in their time of
need."
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| Balles said the next project is securing
the appropriate K-9 inserts for safe transport of the
dogs in police vehicles. “Atlantic County Corrections
Sgt. Greg DePiano has already reached out to me to
assist in this effort by utilizing his contacts through
Atlantic County Toys for Kids,” Balles said. “It doesn’t
have to be new, it just has to fit”. There are people
who have heard what we are trying accomplish and want to
do anything they can to help. If you would like to help
this program, contact the Sheriff at balles_frank@aclink.org
or 609-909-7211. (www.acsheriff.org)
B & B Benefit on June 11, 2010 - Click
HERE for info.
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Donations made payable to:
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Atlantic County Toys For
Kids Program (Attn: K-9 Unit) |
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P.O. Box 556 |
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Somers Point, NJ 08244 |
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