Posted on 12/07/2004 1:01:10 PM PST by EggsAckley
NEWARK, N.J. -- Jails and detention centers around the country must stop using police dogs to control detainees as of Saturday under a new policy issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Homeland Security Department, issued a memo to its 22 regional field offices last month ordering them to refrain from contracting with facilities that use dogs around detainees. The facilities will still be able to use the dogs to sniff for drugs or other contraband, said bureau spokesman Russ Knocke.
"We believe there are other effective tools that can be used," he said.
Knocke said the department has received complaints about dogs being used against detainees, "but I wouldn't suggest it was cause and effect in terms of the new policy. This is something we had been working on for a number of years."
Immigrants rights workers hailed the directive as long overdue.
"We are encouraged at this victory," said Eric Lerner, a leader of the New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee. "It's clearly the result of the work of immigrants rights groups over the last 18 months since we exposed the use of dogs against detainees."
There are between 200 to 400 detainees at the Passaic County Jail, which gets $77 per day from the federal government for housing each inmate.
Bill Maer, a spokesman for Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale, said the jail will comply with the Saturday deadline by moving detainees to a different section of the jail where dogs will not be permitted. Until then, he said, the dogs will continue to be used for tasks like accompanying prisoners being transferred to and from the infirmary, or to break up fights or disturbances at the jail.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
Yeah, like setting them free and sending them to my city for the tax payers to take care of. Like giving them amnesty and a driver's license. All kinds of neat stuff they can do.
What beautiful animals they are.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.