Dover, DE —Today the Delaware Department of Correction (DOC) announced that it will transition all correctional K-9 teams statewide to a contraband detection mission.  This transition supports a multi-layered initiative to enhance safety and to curb the influx of illegal or harmful substances and dangerous contraband into its facilities.  It will occur through attrition and in alignment with the specific safety needs of each facility.  Previously, the DOC has leveraged a mix of K-9 contraband detection units and K-9 security & patrol units, with a heavy emphasis on security & patrol functions.  This phased redeployment has already begun and will continue over the next year.

“Our K-9 program transition to a universal contraband detection and mitigation mission aligns with national correctional K-9 best practices and better supports our broad goal of enhancing the safety, security, and wellness of all who live and work within Delaware’s correctional system,” said DOC Commissioner Terra Taylor. “Moreover, this transition is a clear-eyed response to the persistent threat of illegal and dangerous contraband to our correctional facilities.”

The Delaware DOC maintains 28 K-9 teams, with 18 teams currently assigned to patrol and facility security duties and 10 teams assigned to drug and contraband detection. The transition to a universal detection mission is prompting the DOC to replace its K-9 patrol dogs, which are bred to be naturally aggressive and are deployed primarily as a physical “stand-off” deterrent while observing groups of people in movement and for outside perimeter patrol duties. To mitigate the risk of accidental bites, patrol dogs must operate in open prison areas at a distance from other staff, incarcerated individuals, and visitors. On the other hand, K-9 detection dogs are bred to be social by nature, with temperament and capabilities that make them well-suited to work in controlled correctional environments. Detection dogs operate safely among people in all areas, including high-traffic gatehouses, entry points, housing units, and close quarters of individual cells. Detection dog breeds have a heightened sense of smell that is highly effective at scanning people, property, and vehicles to locate narcotics, other illicit substances, and electronic contraband such as cellular devices.

DOC’s K-9 transition is being implemented thoughtfully and on a facility-by-facility basis, taking into account each location’s unique safety and security needs. The transition will occur primarily through natural attrition as K-9 patrol dogs approach retirement age. Additionally, two young recently acquired patrol dogs are being replaced with detection dogs through an exchange. All DOC working K-9 dogs upon retirement are adopted to carefully selected and loving families, and adopted families receive financial support for the ongoing care of retired DOC K-9s through the provisions of Senate Bill 176, which was enacted into law in 2023.

The initial 12-week training and certification timeframes for detection dogs is shorter than the 14 weeks required for patrol dogs, prompting quicker K-9 team deployment into DOC facilities, and home kenneling costs for detection dogs are modestly lower as they do not require the higher-level kennel and outdoor space design requirement for patrol dogs to ensure physical separation and safety in the home environment. Acquisition costs for detection and patrol K-9 dogs are similar and ongoing training requirements to maintain certification and standards are similar among detection and patrol K-9s. DOC’s detection dogs are trained for tracking to support the essential security mission as needed.

The DOC’s ability in 2025 to transition away from patrol k-9 dogs for security, crowd control, and physical intervention functions is supported by significant investments and improvements in modern intelligence-driven strategies that have been made over the past ten years to enhance safety and security. These enhancements include new proactive intelligence-gathering and assessment capabilities, a heavy emphasis on information-sharing between and within facilities, deployment of thousands of new security cameras – a ten-fold increase from a decade ago – new training for Officers and staff in verbal communication and de-escalation techniques, and onboarding of additional less lethal tools to maintain control and resolve physical conflicts.

Detection K-9 dogs have a particular value not only in pinpointing individuals with contraband at entry points, identifying contraband concealed in spaces within facilities, and detecting drugs and contraband on people while moving across facilities. The expanded physical presence of detection K-9 teams is also designed to have a strong deterrent effect on attempts to introduce life-threatening contraband into correctional facilities, further reducing the risk of drug overdose.

Pictured in attached image: DOC K-9 detection dogs currently in training. Left to right: K-9 Boone, K-9 Radar, K-9 Ricky, K-9 Rico and K-9 Gunner.

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