SECOND CANINE UNIT SLATED FOR CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

City police may have a second canine unit in place before the end of
the year.

Const. Shawn Borgford and his Belgian Malinois dog Trax need three
weeks of training to get their certification, Deputy Chief John Manoll
told Thursday's meeting of the Brockville Police Services Board.

Manoll said the dog was originally purchased as a family pet, but
displayed extraordinary tracking abilities and intelligence, prompting
Borgford to consider it for the canine unit.

Borgford and Trax attended a recertification program last month near
Oshawa with the force's existing canine unit, Const. Mike Grant and
Sep, which is also a Belgian Malinois.

Manoll said Trax impressed trainers at the three-day program and
received instruction in narcotics detection.

A letter from head trainer Mark Mills indicated the dog needs only
three weeks of training in North Carolina this fall, rather than the
normal six-week program, to complete certification.

Manoll said the cost to send Borgford and Trax for three weeks is
about $5,000, which can be taken out of the 2004 training budget.

Moreover, a new canine unit will not mean extra costs for a kennel or
vehicle, he said.

Borgford already has a kennel for the dog and a new canine unit can
share the vehicle used by Grant and Sep, Manoll said.

He said the additional unit will also help relieve some of the
overtime pressures on the existing team.

"So, there's no additional cost and what we get is an additional
patrol officer with a trained dog."

He said current overtime costs for the canine unit are more than
$10,000 and he expects that amount would be reduced by 50 per cent as
a result of the new unit coming on line.

The board approved sending Borgford and Trax on the training session
from Oct. 25 to Nov. 12.