CALGARY CANINE JOINS WAR ON DRUGS IN JAILS

When Chaz the drug-detecting dog begins patrolling Alberta's jails,
he'll be using a finely tuned nose developed by Calgary police training.

The two-year-old Labrador retriever is part of an $80,000-a-year
government program to prevent the spread of drugs inside eight
provincial jails for adult offenders.

"He's a very independent dog -- it's probably the thing I like most
about him. You get him started and he'll search an entire room by
himself," said Sgt. Shawn Sykes, a Calgary Police Service K-9 officer
who trained Chaz for the provincial Solicitor General's Department.

Chaz and his handler, correctional officer Shaun McCoy, will be based
at the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre, where officials unveiled
the new drug-detection measure on Wednesday.

"This is a big step in the right direction," said Cec Cardinal,
chairman of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees Local 3, which
represents approximately 1,000 correctional officers.

"Any time you can make a dent in the gang activity, it's better for
the front-line staff in the institutions."

The drug dog program is designed to complement other procedures in
place to prevent contraband from getting into provincial jails. The
other measures include physical searches, cell searches and random
drug testing.

Jail staff conducted 77 searches using dogs from other police agencies
last year.

Officials say drugs aren't a rampant problem in the provincial jail
system, where the maximum sentence is two years.

Significant drug seizures are "very rare," said Jill McCormick,
spokeswoman for the Solicitor General's Department. She likened the
typical seizure to a single marijuana joint or a small amount of pills.

"Chaz is expected to act as more of a deterrent," she said.