Ranger, an 8-year-old Czech Shepherd,
showed off his skills Tuesday, Oct. 23 during Professor Steve
Friedland's Evidence class.
Lieutenant C.A. Lowder and
Corporal Christa Long of the Winston-Salem Police Department
visited the class to discuss their work with Ranger and other
dogs in the city's K-9 unit. Long hid 2 bags of marijuana
behind a recycling bin in Room 207, then brought Ranger into
the room. K-9 dogs are trained to respond to specific
commands from their handler, and Ranger located the hidden
marijuana within a few seconds. Dogs alert their handler to
the presence of the odor of narcotics by scratching or pawing
at the scent, or by sitting down next to it.
Long is Ranger's handler and takes
the dog home with her when the pair are off-duty. Dogs and
handlers are certified in K-9 work after undergoing 400 hours
of classroom and field instruction, and dogs maintain
certification by performing 16 hours of training each
month.
Students got practical experience during the class, learning
the rules of evidence presentation in court and questioning
Lowder and Long about their work as K-9 handlers as witnesses
in a mock trial setting.
