After months of fundraising, followed by canine (K9) and handler training, our team is excited to welcome electronic storage detection (ESD) K9 Trinity as our newest crime fighting partner! Trinity is also the first ESD K9 in Oregon. An ESD K9 is specially trained in scent detection which allows them to smell the chemical commonly found in digital storage devices. This allows ESD K9s to successfully locate hidden devices during searches that may have otherwise been missed due to deceiving device design or being concealed in irregular places. The items Trinity is searching for are hidden devices such as cell phones, computers, thumb drives, memory cards, and others containing evidence of child exploitation.
ESD K9s, like Trinity, can find hidden electronics in a variety of environments including electronics that are submerged in water, hidden in floorboards, and other creative hiding places. In addition to locating electronics connected to child criminal investigations, Trinity and her handler, Detective Bettencourt, can find digital evidence related to other major criminal cases during investigations. Trinity is a member of the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit and is an affiliate member of the Oregon Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. ICAC is a national network of coordinated task forces representing federal, state, and local law enforcement focused on investigating, prosecuting and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children.
ESD K9 Trinity, our 2-year-old black English Labrador Retriever, offers more support than just her certification in electronic storage detection; Trinity provides comfort to child victims at scenes and their families during difficult interviews. Our team has also been able to seek comfort and a refreshing break with her friendly demeanor around the office. Ghost, our Patrol K9, and ESD K9 Trinity have different roles and training. Most Patrol K9s, including Ghost, do not serve in roles that allow them to be approached and petted by community members. Due to her role and training, Trinity is able to be approached and petted by community members with Detective Bettencourt’s approval. In fact, some community members have had the chance to meet Trinity at the Meet and Greet hosted by Flashbacks Fountain & Grill or the annual Shop with a Cop event. When you see Trinity at future events, stop by and say hi!
Trinity was donated to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office by the kNot Today Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to generate awareness, initiate prevention strategies, and assist in the development of innovative healing programs for sexually abused and exploited children. Community members helped raise funds to help bring Trinity to our team, assist in training, and cover on-going program expenses. We would also like to thank Flashbacks Fountain & Grill and Rogue Spirits & Ales for hosting ESD K9 fundraising events and K9s for Cops for providing a platform to collect online donations. Trinity and her handler received their core training from Jordan Detection K9 and continue to complete additional training to expand skills and to stay updated on best practices.
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