The University of Oregon Department of Public Safety has submitted a proposal included in University Vice President for Finance and Administration Frances Dyke’s Seeds of Change program that would equip DPS with an explosive-material-detecting K-9 unit. If the proposal goes forward, DPS would become the only non-federal agency in Lane County to have such a unit.
In the written proposal, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, along with what are identified as terrorist attacks on high density locations, are cited as one of the primary reasons DPS is seeking an explosives detecting K-9 unit. The proposal goes on to state, “In a world which seems to have a new terrorist threat almost weekly, the decision to have an explosives detection canine seems a logical one.”
The proposal also states that an explosives-detecting K-9 is necessary because of highly attended events at the University — mostly sporting events like home football games with peak attendance around 60,000 visitors, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and basketball games at Matthew Knight Arena. Specialty events like political and presidential visits were also mentioned.
The proposal goes on to highlight that between 25,000 and 30,000 students and faculty are at the University every day, and that approximately 3,700 students currently reside in the residence halls.
The proposal, authored by DPS Captain Ed Rinne, cites the estimated cost for establishing such a program at $50,499. This would include the initial $30,000 for the purchase of a trained explosive canine in addition to $18,749 to equip the current DPS vehicle fleet with the necessary gear to accommodate such a K-9 unit.
The only explosive detection K-9 Unit currently in service in Lane County belongs to the Federal Protective Service. FPS is a Department of Homeland Security unit responsible for bomb-sniffing duties at all University home football games. The unit has also been used in two recent false alarm bomb scares on the University campus during the current academic year. The first occurred when a suspicious package was found in Chapman Hall on Oct. 14, and the second incident developed when a threatening message was written on a blackboard in Knight Library and caused both the library facility and the Lillis Business Complex to be shut down for two days in late November. Both incidents were false alarms.
The Eugene Police Department and the Springfield Police Department have dedicated K-9 units with four dogs apiece, but spokespersons for these departments said none of these dogs are used for explosives detection, and when such services are needed, they typically work with FPS or other outside agencies. Representatives from the Lane County Sheriff’s Department were unable to speak in depth on the subject, but said the department had two dogs and neither were capable of explosives detection.
DPS’s proposed K-9 unit would not be a working or a drug-sniffing dog. Its only mission would be to detect explosives, and it would not be used in drug paraphernalia searches, search and rescue missions, or for apprehending suspects. Rinne said his department had no aspirations of acquiring a drug-sniffing dog.
“There are no thoughts, ideas or plans on ever obtaining a drug dog; but having an Explosives Detection K-9 would be invaluable for the entire campus community,” Rinne said in an e-mail statement.
The Seeds of Change program provides funding to new initiatives on the University campus. This year, there are sixteen proposals that, after a public comment period that ended on Wednesday, will now be reviewed and ranked by a team of nine directors from Dyke’s office. Dyke would not comment directly on any of the proposals, as she said this might sway the ranking process, but she did say priority projects would be based first on feasibility and need, and price and cost issues would be secondary considerations.
In addition to the K-9 unit proposal, members of DPS also submitted a proposal to organize a rape and self-defense education program with an estimated cost of $19,500.
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