Judicial Services Report 2016, 225th Anniversary Edition

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit was formed in February 1998 with Deputy Marc Lancaster appointed as the first handler, and his partner, a black lab named Kayla. Kayla retired in April 2005. The Sheriff’s Office’s second handler was Deputy David Bolton, and his partner, a Belgian malinois named Cobra. Cobra retired in April 2010. The K-9 Unit cur- rently consists of two K-9 teams, Sgt. David Bolton and his partner Ronin, and Deputy David Cole and K-9 Edik. Sgt. Bolton was selected to be the handler in September 2004. Bolton handled Cobra for six years, and now handles Ronin. Bolton and Ronin went through an intensive six week police K-9 academy at North East Police K-9 Academy, located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Deputy Cole was selected in July 2015 with K-9 Edik. They attended K-9 training at Castle's K9. Deputy Cole now trains with North East Police K-9 Academy. Ronin and Edik are shepherd/malinois mixes from the Czech Republic. Ro- nin and Edik are trained in a variety of important skills.

K-9 Benefits : One of Ronin and Edik's skills is explosive detection. Both dogs can detect a variety of different odors, in- cluding the odors of bomb ingredients.

Some other K-9 skills include:

Tracking- K-9's track by either ground disturbance or by scent of the person being tracked. Also, during a track, if they locate an article, they will alert by lying down without touching it. Building searches- Ronin or Edik can locate criminals who are hiding in buildings. Deputy protection- Ronin and Edik will protect their handler and other deputies when they are in danger. Demonstrations- Both K-9 teams also conduct demonstrations of their K-9 skills, and explain the K-9 unit skills and functions. They provide demonstrations to schools, clubs, and places of business.

Both teams train everyday. Ronin and Edik, as well as their handler, also train 16 hours a month with trainer Paul Price of North East Police K-9 Academy. Both teams are also certified each year through United Police and Correction K-9 Associa- tion.

Warrant Division: The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office not only arrests individuals that have active bench warrants in Lancaster County, but also has the unique ability to track down and extradite fugitives from all over the world. By working with the United States Marshals Service, in addition to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Pennsylvania State and United States Attorney General’s Offices, the Pennsylvania State Police, and several local law enforcement agencies, the Sheriff’s Office has achieved this ability.