Thank you for visiting the Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team's website. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department encompasses approximately 7,208 square miles and ranges from San Bernardino County to San Diego County and from Orange County to the Arizona state line. The population of more than 2,189,641 citizens is protected by approximately 3,000 Sheriff's Deputies patrolling seventeen of the county's twenty-six cities. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team is made up from twenty-three deputies stationed across the county boasting a vast array of search and apprehension capabilities with a primary goal to combat crime and keep citizens and law enforcement officers safe.

    The Riverside County Sheriff's Department currently has fourteen dual-purpose K9 teams trained to apprehend dangerous criminals and detect hidden narcotics. These dual-purpose teams cover the areas of Hemet, Jurupa, Lake Elsinore, Cabazon, Perris, Indio, and the contract cities of Temecula, Moreno Valley, and Palm Desert. The dogs of this team are currently composed of three breeds: Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, and a Belgian Tervuren. These teams patrol their assigned areas and work together to ensure the safety of the public and other law enforcement officers by apprehending suspects who are potentially too dangerous to apprehend without incurring significant injury. These teams also work together to locate hidden narcotics with the use of the Patrol Service Dog's incredible inherent ability of smell. These teams are essential to patrol operations and will ultimately save approximately 1,000 man hours per team per year for the department and tax payers.

    Our K9 team also employs the use of two Bloodhound tracking dogs. Riverside County Sheriff's Department’s Bloodhound handlers are well known throughout California and are frequently utilized by many other Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the state to locate fleeing felons, lost hikers, and missing juveniles. Bloodhound handlers and their canine partners are absolutely irreplaceable due to the lives they save on a regular basis.

    The Riverside County Sheriff's Department also has a fully operational Hazardous Device Team with two explosive detection Patrol Service Dogs. These dogs are used to detect and locate chemical compounds used as explosives to help the Hazardous Device Team locate potential terrorists and criminals in possession of dangerous weapons.

    The contract city of Moreno Valley fields a Patrol Service Dog and handler as a part of their Special Enforcement Team. This dog is a narcotics detection Patrol Service Dog, and along with his undercover partner, he assists the Special Enforcement Team in Moreno Valley with their constant battle with illegal narcotics.

    The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has also recently started a Correctional K9 position out of the Larry Smith Correctional Facility. The Correctional K9 and her handler have been very successful in the jails located throughout Riverside County in locating illegal narcotics, cell phones, tobacco, and jail-made intoxicants inside of the jail facilities.

    The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team has also initiated a non-profit organization in the form of the Riverside Sheriff's Association K9 fund. This non-profit organization is funded by community partners, and helps with the logistical support of the dog program as well as assistance for our retired K9 partners. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team has been overwhelmed by the support of our local community partners, and we extend our most heartfelt thanks to those men and women who assist us in our service. If you would like to become one of our sponsors, or would like to donate to our K9 program, feel free to contact your local K9 handler (listed on our contact page) or email us at Donations@Riversidesheriffk9team.com.

    If you would like to know more about individual K9 teams that are a part of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team, feel free to view the handler's individual page from the Team Members section of our website.

Thank you again for visiting,

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team.

02/18/2012: The Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Team attended the 10th annual War Dog Memorial and honored the military K9 handlers and service dogs that gave their lives in 2011.

04/25/12: The Riverside County Sheriff's Department 3rd Annual Narcotics Training Day had a great turnout. We would like to thank all attending agencies.

11/3/12: The 17th Annual Riverside County Sheriff's Department K9 Trials will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 2nd and 3rd 2012 in the City of Palm Desert. Please see our "Trials" section for more information.