Kato, the Bluffton police department’s K9, joined the department in May 2018. What’s the effect of the dog on law enforcement in the community?

According to Ryan Burkholder, police chief, “Our main goal in implementing a K9 program is to combat narcotics in and around Bluffton.”

Chief Burkholder added that criminal activity has decreased since the addition of Kato.

He added: “In some instances Kato was going to be used, but when the offender knew the dog was available, we were granted consent to search. The mere presence of a K9 on scene was enough to get the person’s consent to a search of the vehicle.”

The department released a K9 usage report from May 1, 2018 through Jan. 31, 2019. The complete report is attached.

Among report highlights:
• 26 exterior open air vehicle sniffs
• 3 suspect/missing person tracks
• 1 article/evidence search

Illegal substances located (the entire list is in the attachment)
• 10 grams of suspected marijuana
• 120 of suspected marijuana
• Vape pen containing suspected hash oil
• 6 instances of suspected marijuana reside throughout vehicle