The United States is one of the top three destination countries for human trafficking and produces and consumes more child exploitation material than any other country year after year. Based on our detectives’ caseloads, we are seeing a comparable increase in our community as well. To assist our community and partner agencies in protecting our most vulnerable population, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is seeking to establish an electronic storage detection (ESD) K9 program to supplement our K9 Unit.
An ESD K9 is a specially trained scent detection dog trained to smell the chemical commonly found in digital storage devices. These K9s allow detectives to cut search times exponentially and increase success in finding hidden electronics during searches. In the areas they are in service, ESD K9s have a 75% increased success rate at finding hidden devices compared to detectives alone and are responsible for hundreds of arrests. While there are approximately 120 of these K9s nationwide, there are currently none in Oregon.
The Sheriff’s Office is excited to have partnered with Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to finding and rescuing victims of human trafficking and child exploitation throughout the world. OUR has worked with hundreds of law enforcement organizations, been involved in over 4,000 operations, 6,500 arrests, and impacted over 7,000 lives through rescues and aftercare, both domestically and internationally. OUR has also been involved with providing nearly 80% of all the ESD K9s deployed in the United States.
In our partnership with OUR, we are seeking assistance from our community, businesses, organizations, and individuals, to defend the helpless by donating to help establish an ESD K9 in Lincoln County. There are several ways to donate listed below and all donations are tax deductible. We are aiming for a fundraiser deadline of September 30, 2023.
You can donate directly to https://donor.ourrescue.org/-/NMSACXLP?member=SLPNSAKK
You can donate directly by cash or check at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Support Services Division on the second floor of the courthouse, located at 225 W. Olive St #203, Newport, OR 97635. Or you can mail a check made out to the Lincoln County Foundation, Attn LCSO ESD K9 Fund at: Attn: Lincoln County Sheriff Community Fund ESD K9 Program PO BOX 622 Newport, OR 97365
Not everyone who wishes to help can afford to financially, but everyone can do something. Help us get the word out and you will be aiding us to defend the defenseless. Also watch for our social media updates on this project and continue to share them to help get the word out.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to see the program in operation by late 2023 / early 2024. Thank you for helping us protect our community.
