A Connecticut State Police pilot program is using canines to sniff out hidden computer technology.
At the state police training center in Meriden, troopers and a forensic chemist have taught two police dogs how to identify and isolate a scent – a chemical compound – in electronic devices. The dogs have been used in search warrants to find hard drives, flash drives, tablets – anything where illicit material can be stored.
State Police trainer Trooper Mark Lindhard said the dogs have been instrumental in exploitation and fraud cases.
“Child pornography, anything that can be put on a storage device, any information that might have gone lost or hidden or destroyed, we’ve been lucky enough to find for a good amount of cases.”
Sgt. James Kodzis, who runs the State Police K-9 program said, “It immensely helps cases because it enables us to find evidence that would otherwise go undetected.”
The State Police have trained an amiable three year old black lab named Selma who spent about a year training with Detective George Jupin. Already the team has been part of about 40 search warrants in the state.
“She’s doing excellent,” Jupin said of his new four legged partner. “We’ve used her on search warrants and other investigations with state, local, and federal (agencies).”
The Connecticut State Police have also trained another dog who is now working with Rhode Island state troopers.