UNCG POLICE INTRODUCE NEW K-9 UNIT

The UNCG Police Department recently welcomed a new member to the
force. Her name is Aja, she has her very own badge and bulletproof
vest, and she walks on four legs.

Aja is a two-year-old German Shepard from Czechoslovakia. Sgt. David
Combs is Aja's partner, and describes her as a "very sweet, zero-bite dog."

Aja went through 10 weeks of police canine training to learn how to
follow scents and ground disturbances. She was the fastest in her
class at finding well-hidden narcotics.

K-9s are enlisted in the police force because they provide many
benefits. Less time and manpower is needed in a search that utilizes
dogs, and the canines provide an element of safety to officers who
are tracking or apprehending a criminal.

There are different kinds of K-9 police service dogs, ranging from
bomb-search dogs to criminal tracking dogs. Aja is a narcotics and
hazardous drug detection dog. She also searches for dangerous weapons
and can track suspects or missing persons.

One of the biggest goals of the police department in enlisting Aja is
to keep UNCG safer. Police service dogs can be very helpful not only
in finding criminals, but also in deterring crime.

Aja cost $6,000, and Lt. Ron Wolford of the UNCG Police Department
says he believes Aja was worth the price.

"The UNCG Police K-9 is a proactive measure to ensure the safety of
students, faculty, staff, and visitors to campus, and it enhances
UNCG public safety preparedness," says Wolford.

Kristin Reinheimer, a sophomore, says she agrees and believes having
Aja around could help students feel more secure.

"Dogs catch things that people can't detect, so anything that would
help the police to better do their job would of course make the
campus a safer place to be," comments Kristin.