Canine Unit

A well-trained Police Service Dog is a proven crime deterent. Salem’s K-9 Unit is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The Unit can be called out for a number of situations, from checking a car for narcotics, to tracking down an escaped fugitive to finding a lost child in the woods. The Unit trains weekly on the tasks it performs on a daily basis. The number one mission of the Unit is to make Salem and Dent County a better and safer place to live everyday that it goes to work.

The Unit is led by K-9 Officer Joe Chase. Chase has been in law enforcement since 1997. Salem’s Police Service Dog is Adam, who along with Chase are certified by North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA), and Missouri Canine Association in narcotics detection.

Adam was born in Germany and is utility certified. He is four odor certified in the following narcotics detection:Marijuana, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, and Heroin. He is also trained to conduct searches and tracking. He performs handler protection and apprehension, tracking, area search, article search, obedience, and building search. Drug interventions are Adam’s primary function.