The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is proud to provide a Detention K-9 unit to serve as a useful tool in protecting lives and aiding in the safety and security of our facility and community. K-9 teams work seven days a week and are available twenty four hours a day throughout the year.

The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Detention K-9 units consist of two Patrol-Detention / Narcotic Detection Dog Teams assigned to the Detention Division. The K-9 unit assists and supports the detention division, and when called upon the detention K-9 team will assist the uniformed patrol division. The duties of a K-9 team include responding to combative inmates, fights, searching for illegal drugs, and tracking escapees.

The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office utilizes the German shepherd breed as working dogs.  Currently, all of our dogs are imported from the Slovak Republic in Europe.  Each dog is screened and selected based on the dogs prey and defense drive, keen sense of smell, and genetic line.

Each K-9 team is a member of the United States Police Canine Association.  The U.S.P.C.A. provides certifications, training seminars, and guidelines for a standard level of training. (www.uspcak9.com)

The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit conducts in-service training once a week for the K-9 teams.  The training is often conducted at the five acre Sheriff’s Office K-9 Facility, which is set up based on the U.S.P.C.A. standards.  Other K-9 in-service training is conducted in the field throughout New Hanover County.