NC State Police To Have Security Dogs On Site For 2016 Football Season

RALEIGH- In an effort to enhance security measures across campus and promote public safety at the Wolfpack's athletics events, the NC State University Police Department has recently purchased two K-9s to conduct explosives screening at Carter-Finley stadium during the upcoming football season and for other large-scale events to be hosted by the stadium.

These dogs are similar in nature to those currently deployed at airports across the country, and their primary task will be to screen fans upon entry into the stadium for gunpowder and other explosives materials. Operating under the moniker of person-borne dogs, these canines are trained to detect trace amounts of explosives and gunpowder odor emanating from an individual, and to track the person while he or she moves throughout crowds and checkpoints.

NC State is the first police department in North Carolina to employ person-borne detector dogs and plans to have the dogs in place for the Wolfpack's first football game of the season on September 1. The dogs will conduct sweeps of the parking lot and other areas outside the stadium and perform on-leash non-intrusive scans of persons approaching and entering the stadium.

Person-borne dogs are generally non-aggressive in nature, and the majority are Labrador Retrievers, to include the two canines purchased by NC State's police department. Although these dogs are trained to function in a crowd, fans are advised to refrain from approaching or petting them so as to avoid hindering them from doing their job.

Officer Jeff Morales (left) with "Reed" and Officer Joe Collier (right) with "Ford"

"Traditional bomb or explosive K-9s typically check buildings, luggage, vehicles, etc. However in the last few years, there has been an identified need to train K-9s to identify explosives on individuals, particularly at large sporting events and other locations where there are large crowds of individuals," said Chief of Police Jack Moorman.

"I think this decision by the university shows that NC State is being very innovative and takes the safety of our athletic facilities and campus very seriously."

The police department plans to have the dogs on site for other future athletic events as an initiative to continue enhancing the security and ensuring safety at all university events. Aside from working at Carter-Finley, the dogs will be on site at NC State for other athletic events such as baseball and women's basketball.

In addition to large events and functions, the dogs will be around campus on a day-to-day basis in effort to enhance the safety of students, staff and faculty.

The dogs along with the two officers who were selected to handle the dogs are currently in the process of completing a six week training course conducted by K2 Solutions, Inc., the first four of which will be held at K2's Canine Training Center located in Jackson, Springs, N.C., with the last two weeks of training being held on-site at NC State's campus.

NC State Police To Have Security Dogs On Site For 2016 Football Season

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