California DA uses special K-9 to help track online predators

Special electronic detection K-9 is helping the office of the moderate California district attorney to combat the rise in cybercrime.

Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward shared details with Fox News Digital about how the office’s latest crime dogs play a crucial role in helping to address a growing number of cybercrime.

Ward recalls: “Honestly, when my chief investigator was thinking about this concept, you know, what would you think?

Ward said his office is one of 12 awards the country has awarded to electronic testing dogs through the U.S. Secret Service’s National Forensic Research Program.

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“We are honored to be with it,” Ward said. “We shape ourselves as leaders in the fields of child crime and white-collar crime. But, no doubt, Thor is here to help all of our law enforcement partners.”

Tor is a 2-year-old Black Labrador Retriever whose name is obtained from an area of ​​the Dark Web and will be used to assist in crimes using electronic devices such as child pornography, scams and other cybercrimes.

TOR’s handler TCDA crime investigator Anthony Benitez said the Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K-9S began to be used around 2012 and became more severe in 2015, when ESD K-9 “Bear” and his coach/trainer Todd Jordan joined Jordan Teaactions K9 to help with the Jared Fogle Foogle investigation.

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Benitez added that their search helped find key evidence for prosecution of fog.

“Todd Jordan is also his company’s Tor coach, and since the 2015 investigation, their use has increased as more law enforcement agencies have gained access to these K-9s,” Benitez explained.

Ward explained that TOR is trained to detect chemicals, triphenyl oxides used to make nearly any type of storage device, such as cell phones, USB drives, micro SD cards, computers and cameras.

“The concept is not far-fetched from a canine-smelling dog trained to smell narcotics. We often see airports where we train to smell explosives. Well, it’s a very narrow area, he’s trained to detect this chemical, and it can be in very small quantities.”

Senior Tarare County District Attorney Tim Ward explains the importance of the new K-9 electronic detection dog Tor. (Tulaili County District Attorney’s Office)

Benitez explained that once law enforcement has completed manual searches, such as when searching for a house, ESD K-9 is asked to search for a location.

“As you know, a small microSD card, USB drive or phone may be hidden everywhere and sometimes ignored by law enforcement. ESD K-9, like the ESD K-9, will then search for this location and it is possible to find hidden devices.”

“Most people usually don’t mask their devices, and any hidden devices will perform a pre-determined analysis to determine any evidence value. Tor will indicate a chemical TPPO on the device rather than a chemical TPPO on the content.”

Ward added that they have been focusing on crimes against children, but said that over the past five to eight years, they have seen white-collar crime and fraud emerge.

Ward said: “When I said fraud, you immediately started thinking about embezzling public funds, right?

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Ward said authorities have seen “an increase in the number of fraud, misappropriation of public funds and complex white-collar crimes,” and they are seeing two crime types “merge the area in terms of using electronics and storage devices.”

“What I would say is a crime that hides evidence, whether it’s images of child pornography, horrible things, or cheating and hiding financial records and following the money,” Ward said. “We’re excited that Thor is able to assist in law enforcement in any original type of crime.”

Ward has served as the Tulari County District Attorney since 2012 and has formulated crimes against the Children’s Department and the Human Trafficking Task Force and brought the first Court Comfort Dog to Tulari County.

Ward said the need for police K-9s like TOR is essential because crime is developing, sharing examples from the past.

Authorities in Tarare County, California are cutting cybercrime. (Getty Image)

“I had the honor of being part of the prosecution of Visalia Ransacker, which turned out to be the ‘Golden State Killer,’ he said a few years ago. “And I said in my sentencing of the defendant that at that time, as science and technology evolved, what we were seeing was expansion, and what it was going to do was to narrow down the space where criminals could operate.

“And I think that’s the information here. For anyone who thinks they’re smarter than the dog’s nose, you won’t get rid of it. If he’s in the area, he can find it.”

Ward said he hoped the victims knew Thor was there to give them and their families a sense of hope and protection.

“We are lucky and fortunate that the U.S. Secret Service chose us to be a part of it. We will be a good housekeeper. We will do our best to make the most of him,” Ward said.

“Having such a tool will greatly help law enforcement officers find similar hidden objects. Finding this project can cause or damage cases,” Benitez added.

Ward said his office is sending clear messages despite “a lot of things happening in California right now.”

“There are so many voices and things in Sacramento. Who is the voice that is missing in all these conversations? It’s the voice of the victim and the family of the victim. Our hearts will certainly give the heart of any family affected by the crime,” Ward said.

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By using TOR, Ward is confident that they can protect more people.

“We can send a message to families who have no voices to make sounds from Sacramento, and there are actually people who care about the victims. We will do everything we can to hold these criminals accountable,” he said.