The Carlinville and Macoupin County police departments utilized their K-9 units on the Blackburn College campus during the latter part of January. Two city officers, one county officer and the K-9s made rounds through three residence halls and three parking lots. They took approximately an hour and a half to complete their search and no policy violations were cited during their visit. Director of Campus Safety Morrison Fraser explained why the K-9 unit was used.
Fraser noted that the K-9 units were not available last school year as the dogs were still in training. However, the college now has access to the city and county K-9 services and it will not cost the school to have them search the campus. Fraser added that the searches are being conducted for “reactive and proactive” reasons. “This is in response to the reports of marijuana usage on campus,” he said. “Our hope is that students get the message to not bring it here.”
Assistant Dean of Student Life and Director of Residence Life Abbey Hardin elaborated on how it might impact campus life. She said that students should expect to see the K-9 units on campus again during the semester. “We will be employing their assistance if we notice a spike in reports of suspicion of drug use on campus,” she said.
Blackburn is not the first college to make use of local police services. In a 2010 report titled “Fighting Campus Crime: Perceptions of Police Canines at a Metropolitan University” by assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Central Florida Ross Wolf, former law enforcement officer and K-9 handler and trainer Charlie Mesloh and independent executive researcher for Advanced Research Solutions Mark Henych, campus crime such as use of illegal narcotics can be found at all types of schools (metropolitan, suburban and rural). “It is apparent that campus safety can no longer be provided through unarmed uniformed security in many locations,” they write. “Campus policing has evolved to provide police officers that have the training, investigation capability, and patrol tactics and practices often found only in the most progressive police agencies in the United States.”
Overall, Fraser said students will not have to worry about the K-9s searching campus if they do not have anything to hide. He used a speeding analogy to illustrate his point: “If you’re driving over the speed limit, expect to be caught. It’s the same with this situation. You know what they say, ‘He who walks crooked paths will be found out.’”