MONMOUTH COUNTY – The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit just grew by two with the addition of Sheriff’s Officer Doug Marino and K-9 Blue, a two year old Belgian Malinois. Officer Marino and Blue graduated from the New Jersey State Police K-9 Scent Class #34 on June 14, after 14 weeks of intense training in explosive detection.
“It’s an honor to welcome this highly trained K-9 team to our unit. S/O Marino and his partner Blue will prove to be a great asset to Monmouth County and local police departments,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden. “K-9 teams are extremely essential when it comes to bolstering homeland security capabilities by playing a vital role in protecting our county against criminal and terroristic threats, combatting the proliferation of drugs, as well as assisting in the apprehension of suspects.”
The NJSP K-9 Scent class graduated 21 teams trained in scent – 12 in explosives and 9 in narcotics. Each of these teams met all the requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey, Office of Attorney General guidelines.
The newly graduated teams had to complete extensive training held in vacant buildings, lots and offices, throughout various counties, and with the United States Park Police K-9 and Marine Units at Ellis and Liberty Islands. The academy also focused on case law, crime scene preservation, basic obedience, agility, environmental training and socialization with crowds.
“This has been a great experience for Blue and me and I’m grateful to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office for providing us with this opportunity,” said Officer Marino. “K-9s are extremely useful in fighting crime and I’m proud to be a part of our explosive detection team.”
This new addition puts the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit at eight handlers and nine K-9s, making up two explosive teams, two explosive/patrol teams, three narcotics/patrol teams, one narcotics team and one tracking team.
In 2018, the K-9 Unit responded to 200 explosive detection calls, 212 tracking calls and 212 narcotics calls.
