COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s probation and parole agency now has two four-legged agents whose job is to find the electronics sex offenders try to hide. Hunter and Rocky were sworn in with badges at the State House on Friday, Oct. 16.
Both are electronic storage detection dogs. They are trained to pick up a chemical found in data storage devices, so they can locate phones, hard drives, USB drives and micro SD cards that may hold illegal sexually explicit material, including images of child abuse. The dogs and their handlers spent more than five months training in Indianapolis.
The state Probation, Parole and Pardon Services department supervises close to 1,000 registered sex offenders and has run a specialized sex offender caseload program since 2006. The dogs will help with searches of offenders’ homes, where devices have been found tucked into walls, attics and even sewn inside mattresses.
Rocky, a 2-year-old golden retriever mix, works out of Horry County. Hunter, a black Labrador about 2 and a half years old, is based in Greenville with a handler who also takes part in special operations around the state.
Each dog costs roughly $25,000 once training, gear and supplies are counted. The Greenville-based nonprofit Defenders for Children donated them, with help from fundraising that included students at Greenville’s Riverside High School. The agency had one detection dog before, but it stayed with its handler when that agent left the department.
At the ceremony, Gov. Henry McMaster said the dogs are an important tool for catching offenders, and agency leaders said the badges reflect the trust placed in the pair to help protect children across South Carolina.
Section: More Greenville SC crime news
Filed under: Greenville SC Public Safety News
