Dios was sworn in as an official officer yesterday at the Lyceum. Dios, a 1-year-old K-9 from Denver, Indiana, and his handler Justin Watson will only respond to complaints they receive from campus. (Photo by Taylor Cook)
Recreational drug use on campus has more than doubled over the past few years. To combat this increased problem, the University Police Department added a new addition to its team– a black and tan Belgian Malinois named Dios.
Dios, a 1-year-old K-9 from Denver, Indiana, will play a significant role in the department’s efforts to decrease drug use on campus, primarily in residence halls and parking lots.
In the 2014-2015 school year, there were 89 reported drug arrest cases, while in the 2015-2016 academic year, UPD reported 161 drug arrest cases and 93 cases where a university citation was issued.
“I don’t want to say there’s a drug problem on campus, but we’re certainly very much aware that the drug cases over the last year on campus have increased,” Chief Tim Potts said.
According to Potts, the number of drug complaints or arrests conducted from vehicles that were parked or from people who were sitting in the parking lot outside student housing was alarming.
“Sometimes people think ‘I can go into my car and I can roll my windows up and no one’s going to realize,’ but we patrol the parking lots,” Potts said.
Dios and his handler Justin Watson will only respond to complaints they receive from campus, Potts said.
“What you’re not going to see is randomly picking out a night and we say ‘We’re going sweep the second floor of a residence hall,’” he said.
Potts said the K-9 unit will focus more on responding to community needs, rather than focusing solely on enforcement.
“We are going to use Dios for more than just detection,” Potts said. “We plan to have Dios at a lot of community events because we want the community to realize the resource that they have is not just a narcotics detection unit.”
Dios was sworn in as an official officer yesterday at the Lyceum as part of the police department’s efforts to achieve transparency within the community. According to Dios’ handler, it was important that he receive the same induction as all other officers.
“He’s a police officer just like I am,” Watson said. “He’s good for community policing because he gets the students, faculty, staff and surrounding community get to see him and interact with us as police officers.”
Potts said the goal for the K-9 unit is to achieve a level of transparency with the Ole Miss community.
“We want to educate the community on what the K-9 unit is about and what it’s not about,” Potts said. “If we can start a conversation about the K-9, who knows where that conversation may end? If it breaks down that barrier and the person is able to ask that officer about a situation that might have happened to them, then that will have accomplished our goal.”
When searching for the right narcotics detection dog, university police focused its search on the dog’s temperament, demeanor and personality. Potts said the dog had to be able to work well in tight spaces and be able to interact with students.
“We hit it out of the park with Dios,” Potts said. “He’s a very friendly dog, loves to work, but loves to be a dog and loves to get attention. So, we’re very pleased.”
Potts said the program received approval from the university and from the Ole Miss Family Leadership Council.
The Leadership Council funded the $17,285 program. Potts said Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Brandi Hephner LaBanc played an important role in advocating for the approval of the program.
“She got the commitment from that group who funded it who certainly had some questions because they are parents of Ole Miss students,” Potts said. “I think the fear was ‘Do we really need a drug dog on campus?’ and Hephner LaBanc is very aware of the drug cases that were coming along and said ‘We’ve got to do whatever we can to get these drugs off campus.’”
“Drugs are a huge barrier to academic success and for them to have that conversation is really valuable,” Hephner LaBanc said. “It also sends a message that we are going to take violation of drug use seriously and we have a tool that will help us find those.”
The department’s proactive approach with Dios will help provide the university with a great opportunity to engage with the community because everyone loves a dog, she said.
“He’s really friendly, you can pet him and that was a really important thing is that the dog had a happy temperament and would be able to hang out with the students and be very likeable,” Hephner LaBanc said. “He’s got a great personality.”
Senior managerial finance major Amber Fulton said the new K-9 unit is great from both a community and a police enforcement standpoint.
“I met Dios last week and he’s so friendly,” Fulton said. “I think it’s great knowing we have a drug dog on campus who can come to community events and be an ambassador for the university, but at the same time serve as an officer.”
