K-9 Unit & HEAT Team

    

K-9 Unit

The purpose of the Jackson County K-9 Unit is to provide a superior sense of smell, hearing, and potential aggressiveness as a valuable supplement to law enforcement manpower, which aids in crime prevention and control.

Our fellow K-9 coworkers:

• Viper, our current K-9 with Deputy Riley Verbrugge

                 

• Bosco, retired in summer of 2019 due to handler relocating

• Bear, retired in April of 2014 due to a back injury. Bear was our agency's first K-9. Bear was the Jackson County community's dog, as funds for the addition of the K-9 Unit were provided by private donations and service organization fund raisers throughout Jackson County.

Public demonstrations are given many times for any organization requesting the service. Our K-9's conduct locker and vehicle sniffs at area schools and is available to any area law enforcement agencies requesting their services.      

H.E.A.T Team

The execution of arrest warrants and search warrants are among the most dangerous tasks performed by law enforcement officers. A disciplined and well-coordinated approach to these tasks is paramount to ensuring the safety of law enforcement personnel involved, as well as the safety of members of the public who are encountered during such operations.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is proactive in the investigation of criminal activity and enforcement of the law. As a result, it is frequently necessary for Deputies to conduct arrest and search warrant operations. In an effort to maximize the safety of the Deputies and the public in the performance of high-risk operations, the High Risk Entry and Arrest Team (H.E.A.T) was formed. 

The H.E.A.T. Team is a multi-jurisdictional, multi-state task force. It is composed of 14 police departments and 7 county agencies in Minnesota and Iowa. 

The H.E.A.T. Team is not a SWAT team, however the team is comprised of officers who have had prior training and experience in special weapons and tactics, high-risk warrant service and military tactical operations. The team members train together on a regular basis to maintain their skills and enhance their ability to work together in an efficient and coordinated manner.