Indiana State Police crime fighting k-9 unit

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- Today, Indiana State Police (ISP) conducted a demonstration of their K-9 team for the South Bend Rotary Club.

These dogs have been specially trained to apprehend suspects, find missing persons, and detect narcotics.

ISP is currently fundraising their "Back the Bark" campaign to support the construction of a new K-9 training and kennel facility.

According to Dennis Wade, ISP K-9 Coordinator, Indiana State Police currently have 52 dogs on staff: three as part of SWAT, six working in explosive detection, one for computer chip detection, and the remaining 42 for narcotic detection.

"They're incredibly smart," Wade tells ABC57. "...and they are so smart that if they had thumbs they would be driving, and our police officers would be in the back seat."