As the city of Las Vegas works to tighten its financial belt, a unique program could get the budget ax. The City Marshal's office has suspended half of its force of police dogs — and that portion of the program could be cut for good.
The question here is — is the Marshal's office getting its money's worth out of its canine unit? The unit is split in two. Half of the dogs work inside the detention center searching for drugs. The other half work out on the streets — in parks and city buildings — looking for drugs and explosives. But now — the Visible Street Patrol Program could be cut for good.
For the past 10 years, dogs like Walker have been on patrol with the Las Vegas City Marshal's Office. Some are trained to detect explosives. Walker was trained for narcotics.
“We have dogs that have hit on anything from a simple seed of marijuana to huge amounts of narcotics substances — pounds and pounds,” said Deputy Marshal Brent Carlin.
Walker has since retired. But now — three existing patrol dogs have been taken off the streets — and are staying put at the homes of their handlers. It's all a matter of money.
Chief Karen Coyne of Detention and Enforcement said, “So we have to step back and take a look at how much money are we spending for this program versus what are we getting out of it — what is the citizen getting out of it?”
In the past year — the three patrol dogs were used on just 67 calls — just over one a week. The cost? The city says the dogs alone cost about $141,000 each year in travel, supplies and training. In addition — the three handlers are paid an extra $49,000 a year to care for the dogs.
Total cost to taxpayers: $190,000 a year.
“And the bottom line – is this: we are a patrol oriented function and the public sees us whether we are a uniformed officer with an animal or a uniformed officer. And I would submit to you that one is neither more nor less of a deterrent than the other,” said Chief Coyne.
“So if we have an opportunity — and we do — to provide the same level of service — that patrol service — at a more effective and efficient cost then we are doing exactly what the public expects us to do and we are being responsible with our money,” she said.
The dogs were suspended from duty in October but are still officially part of the force. The chief will make a final decision after hearing feedback from within the department.
“It's going to be a subjective measure, obviously, rather than an objective measure, and it's going to be reliant upon that group of supervisors and managers who say 'you know, we haven't seen much' or 'we have really experienced a gap in service,' ” she said.
Chief Coyne says she will make a decision in January about whether to end the street patrol program for good and retire the dogs. If the dogs are retired, their current handlers will likely be given first chance at adoption.
The dogs that work inside the detention center are still on duty, but the chief says that program will also be reviewed sometime soon.
Email your comments to Investigative Reporter Mark Sayre.
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