Carolina Beach Police Department Raising Funds for new K-9 Officer

The Carolina Beach Police Department has had a long history of professionalism and excellence in New Hanover County. It is due in a large part to the officers which dedicate countless hours of time to ensure the citizens of this town receive the best possible law enforcement services they can provide. The Town of Carolina Beach has had a continuous K-9 unit since 2003, in helping assist in locating and detecting criminals and evidence. As society has changed over the years, so have the needs and requirements of the police service dogs. The state of North Carolina and the North Carolina Law Enforcement Training and Standards set forth minimum standards which all police service dogs must meet. In recent years, the handlers have observed the need to continue the Carolina Beach K-9 unit tradition of excellence. The United States Police Canine Association provides training and certifications which exceed state minimum requirements set forth for police service dogs. This training is invaluable during court proceedings when a K-9 team/unit’s training and credibility is challenged. Our level of training and dedication far exceeds that of the majority of K-9 units across the nation.

The K-9 unit provides support and services not only for the Town of Carolina Beach, but for other agencies in the county and throughout the state. Although the K-9 team provides daily service for the approximate 6,500 citizens of the Town of Carolina Beach, it routinely provides K-9 support for the entire population of New Hanover County which exceeds 200,000 citizens. Currently the Carolina Beach Police Department K-9 team has completed 124 vehicle “sniffs”, assisted on 15 calls with other agencies, and completed 15 tracks, 2 article searches, 100 building searches, and 10 narcotic deployments to residence. Our K-9 team is on call 24 hours a day and respond to all routine calls as well as K-9 specific calls. They are all patrol certified which covers tracking, scent detection and identification, searches of building and areas, obedience, socialization, and criminal apprehension.

Carolina Beach Police Department’s new K-9 dog will be replacing a retiring narcotics detection dog, therefore will be trained to detect large variety of common street narcotics. The Town of Carolina Beach relies on donations for the purchase of the K-9 dogs. Due to current budget cuts the Town is unable to provide funds to allocate for the purchase of the new dog. Sgt. Soward’s K-9 partner is going to be 9yrs old this year. Although Jenna is still doing very well on the street it is and has been the departments policy to retire service dogs who have reached Jenna’s age. They need to replace her as soon as possible to ensure the survival of the K-9 Unit.

“Tip A K-9” is a local charity that was started in order to help the Carolina Beach K-9 Unit and Sgt. Soward get the replacement dog that this town needs. We are also raising funds in order to ensure that these K-9’s get the proper bulletproof vest that they need in order to keep them safe. The loyalty they carry out is dangerous in order to keep our law enforcement and the citizens safe. These canine officers, like the human officers, deserve the protection of body armor and sadly the police departments do not have the funds to purchase the vests that can save the lives of their police dogs. Please help us raise the money that this town needs in order to see the K-9 unit survive for many years to come. Any assistance you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Please make donations to CBPD K-9 unit, at any First Citizens Bank, or you can mail them in to:

613 N Lake Park Blvd
Carolina Beach, NC 28428.

For any questions please contact me at 910-264-8189.

Thank you in advance for the support,

Stefanie Juel