Police dog should be used in New Hope

EDITORIAL

   Illegal drugs are rampant in this area.
   And for New Hope not to use all its resources to fight the problem is just ludicrous.
   Cpl. Frank DeLuca was given permission to use Gunner, a dog trained to sniff illicit substances. But Mayor Laurence Keller suspended the program last May after Cpl. DeLuca accumulated 40 hours in overtime during the first two weeks of a 10-week training course.
   He was allowed to complete the training and graduated last June, but the program was never instituted because the borough said it needed to evaluate cost, liability and necessity issues.
   That should have been done before Cpl. DeLuca was given permission to attend the training and purchase the Chesapeake Bay retriever for $600. The program was to be a joint effort with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and Cpl. DeLuca. The monthly one-day training sessions would be paid for from the Bucks County drug forfeiture fund, with the stipulation the dog could be used by other area departments.
   Now, a trained canine and its handler have sat idly by for more than a year while New Hope officials fret.
   Cost should not be a mayor issue; Cpl. DeLuca is paying for all expenses associated with the dog and has arrangements with a veterinarian and a local pet store to supply free services for the dog.
   Necessity should not even be a consideration; drugs are everywhere, and the canine’s skills can be used frequently in this area and neighboring communities.
   And liability issues should have been discussed with legal experts well before permission was granted to Cpl. DeLuca.
   Mr. Keller says the borough attorney now says New Hope could be responsible for overtime pay for dog care and veterinarian bills, which he said could amount to $14,000 a year in salary alone. He also feels the dog needs obedience, tracking and aggression training, and that’s what makes it different from a K-9 police dog.
   In addition, the police union has warned it would file a grievance if the program is instituted outside of the collective bargaining process.
   New Hope officials and police need to sit down and work out a settlement. The training the dog has received will have to be repeated if more time elapses.
   The dog could be a valuable asset to this area. Perhaps it should be turned over to the DA’s office, with money from the forfeiture fund used for its care and maintenance, if New Hope refuses to use it.
   One thing’s for sure: its abilities are being wasted now.