Recon Canines - Electronic Storage Device Detection
The America's Forgotten Heroes Recon Canines program is pioneering a low-tech way to solve high-tech crimes with the use of specially trained Electronic Storage Device Detection Dogs (ESD). ESD Dogs are highly skilled dogs trained to sniff out unique chemical compounds emitted by electronic storage devices such as cell phones, flash/thumb drives and SD cards. The assistance the dogs provide investigators can mean the difference between conviction and acquittal in cases of terrorism, sex trafficking and child pornography.
It is common practice for persons involved in or participating in child pornography and sexual exploration to keep their conversations, pictures, videos, and other contact information on external storage devices such as hard drives, jump drives, thumb drives, SD and Micro SD cards to make it difficult for law enforcement to discover these items when hidden away in unknown locations. The America's Forgotten Heroes Recon Canines program has trained detection dogs to find these items that human investigators routinely miss, and it's foiling predators, terrorists, and other criminals.
There are only a handful of ESD Dogs in the country so these dogs are highly sought after by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, especially those working on Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces.
Cell Phone Detection
Cell phones in correctional facilities are perhaps the worst type of contraband and one of the fastest growing problems faced by correctional officers. A cell phone hidden under a mattress has become the modern-day file inside a cake. But with internet access, a cell phone becomes a smart phone that inmates can do a multitude of things with. They can look up phone directories, maps, photographs and communicate with those on the outside.
Cell phones are being used in alarming numbers by inmates for planning escapes, harassing their victims, drug trafficking and other criminal activities, including arranging the murder of witnesses and public safety officers. This illegal practice jeopardizes the safety of America’s communities and public safety officials.
A well-trained cell phone detection dog team is a pragmatic method to locating hidden cell phones within a correctional facility. A single dog team has the ability to search multiple cells or a yard quickly and efficiently. Compared to expensive technologies that have a less than impressive success rate, i.e., cell phone jamming, a cell phone detection dog team is a cost effective solution to stopping the dangerous and illegal use of cell phones inside prison walls.
