| Customs and ATF announce completion of joint canine training centers
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At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 4, 2001, Acting Commissioner Charles W. Winwood, U.S. Customs Service, and Director Bradley A. Buckles, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), announced the official completion of their respective agencies' Canine Enforcement Training Centers in Front Royal, Va. The state-of-the-art facility is the first of its kind in federal law enforcement. Dogs trained by Customs and ATF are used by law enforcement in the United States and worldwide to assist in arson investigations, prevent explosive incidents, search for narcotics, and detect currency."ATF's decision to locate their dog training efforts at the Customs Canine Enforcement Training Center is a perfect example of interagency cooperation," says Acting Commissioner Winwood. "The completion of the new facility will allow both Customs and ATF to more efficiently accomplish their missions." The canine centers represent years of research and development into training techniques that prepare detector dogs to cue their handlers to the presence of accelerants, explosives, or narcotics. The U.S. Customs Canine Enforcement Training Center occupies 250 acres and accommodates 260 dogs in training. The Center includes the ATF's 24,000 square-foot, climate-controlled, indoor training facility. Also located on the Center grounds are the U.S. Customs Breeding Program facility and a 14,000 square-foot academic building equipped with the latest in audio/visual equipment and interpreters' booths for international training initiatives. U.S. Customs and ATF maintain their own veterinary clinics and share outdoor exercise and training areas, including a 150-car parking lot where dogs learn search techniques.The combined U.S. Customs and ATF facilities are among the leading detector dog training centers worldwide. Within the last ten years, U.S. Customs has trained officers from over 51 foreign countries, while ATF has trained officers from 12 foreign countries. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the ATF training facility, demonstrations by both ATF and Customs dogs at the vehicle pad took place. This was designed to show visitors and the press techniques used by ATF to detect explosives, and by Customs to detect narcotics. Later in the day, there were tours of both the ATF and Customs facilities and demonstrations by canine handlers of the training methods used by each agency. Not surprisingly, the most popular area was the puppy pen. On display were the last three litters of puppies born to the breeding program; and a Shepherd puppy and two Golden Retriever puppies that had been donated to the training facility. The day was declared an unqualified success by all who attended, secure in the partnership between Customs and ATF in the training of canines for law enforcement. | | Photo Credit:Â James Tourtellotte |
| Instructor Ken Molidor, along with canine detector dog, Crazy Joe, demonstrates training techniques used at the Customs Canine Enforcement Training Center.
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