More than 100 elite police K-9 teams from across the country are in Atlantic City this week, competing in a national event that’s also helping them prepare for major security operations tied to large crowds this summer.
The U.S. Police Canine Association’s 2026 National Detector Dog Trials — hosted by Stockton University police — are bringing together highly trained dogs and their handlers for two days of competition and certification at the Jersey Shore. Inside a casino event space, handlers are running controlled scenarios designed to test how accurately dogs can detect specific scents. For Stockton University Police Chief Tracy Stuart and her K-9 partner Freya, a golden retriever trained to detect explosives, the exercises mirror the kind of high-stakes environments they could soon face.
Read more…
Source: NBC Philadelphia News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Florida: One injured as authorities investigate possible explosive device in Pinellas County
July 22, 2025
Authorities are investigating a possible explosive device at a solid waste disposal complex in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. PCSO said around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, deputies responded to an incident at the 3000 block of 114th Avenue North. A man picked up an ammo can and opened it, resulting ...
- New York Man Charged For Making And Attempting To Use Improvised Explosive Devices In Manhattan
July 22, 2025
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton; Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Christopher G. Raia; and Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, announced today charges against MICHAEL GANN alleging that he manufactured ...
- California: Improvised explosive device used to gain entry to ATM at San Ramon Target
July 20, 2025
An investigation is underway in San Ramon after police said an improvised explosive device was used to gain entry to an ATM early Sunday morning. Shortly after 2:15 a.m., officers responded to the Target on Bishop Drive, where they discovered an improvised explosive device had been used to gain access to an ATM. The explosion damaged ...
- California: Santa Monica apartment is focus of probe into blast that killed 3 L.A. County sheriff’s deputies
July 19, 2025
Authorities investigating the deadly blast at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department training facility are looking into connections to some explosives collected in Santa Monica. Three deputies were killed Friday in an explosion at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East L.A. while handling explosive materials. No cause for the blast ...
- California: Driver slams into crowd outside Hollywood nightclub, critically injuring 7 and wounding more than 20 others
July 19, 2025
A patron who had been tossed out of a popular East Hollywood nightclub early Saturday later intentionally smashed his car into a crowd outside the venue, injuring 30 people — including seven critically — before being pulled out of his vehicle and shot by a bystander, police said. The driver, who police identified as Fernando Ramirez, ...
- New airport scanners are better at spotting liquid explosives, but many airports lack them
July 19, 2025
Travelers celebrated the suggestion that American airports might soon ease restrictions on liquids in carry-on bags that create endless hassles at security checkpoints, but more than a third of all airports around the country still haven’t upgraded their screening systems to reliably detect liquid explosives that could bring down a plane. It may be annoying to ...
- Virginia: Smithfield man pleads guilty to possessing over 150 improvised explosive devices and an unregistered firearm
July 18, 2025
NORFOLK, Va. – A Smithfield man pled guilty today to possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle and possession of an unregistered destructive device. According to court documents, on July 31, 2021, Brad Kenneth Spafford, 36, was admitted to an emergency room with a completely amputated right thumb, partially amputated right middle and index fingers, hearing ...
- California: Three deputies killed in explosion at LA County Sheriff’s Department Training Center
July 18, 2025
Three deputies were killed Friday in an explosion at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East L.A., the deadliest incident for the agency in more than 160 years. Deputies with the arson explosives detail, an elite unit within the Sheriff’s Department, were moving ordnance in the training center’s parking lot about ...
- California: Team Travis boosts readiness during Exercise
July 15, 2025
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Travis Air Force Base conducted a combat readiness exercise June 30 – July 10, 2025, to test the installation’s ability to respond to emergent threats, maintain security and execute global mobility missions under pressure. The exercise included simulated events that evaluated emergency response, installation defense and coordination with base agencies ...
- Las Vegas’ First Female Bomb Squad Commander Living the Dream
July 15, 2025
Las Vegas’ Chief of Fire Investigations Jamie Sypniewicz was a fourth grader when she spotted a fire engine, inspiring her to tell her teacher that she wanted to be a firefighter when she grew up. Her path led her to Las Vegas three decades ago, and she’s been with the city’s Fire Department for a quarter-century. ...
- Japanese WWII destroyer torpedoed by U.S. boats discovered on Pacific seafloor – still armed with munitions
July 15, 2025
A famed Japanese destroyer sunk by U.S. torpedoes during a pivotal battle in World War II has been discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean more than 80 years after it sank, an exploration team has revealed. The warship was found still armed with unused depth charges, according to the explorers. The Imperial Japanese Navy ...
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal techs train with multinational troops at Exercise African Lion
July 14, 2025
FORT SILL, Okla. – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians trained together with troops from Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritania and the Netherlands in Senegal during Exercise African Lion 2025. Army EOD technicians from the Fort Sill, Oklahoma-based 761st Ordnance Company (EOD) deployed to Senegal for the all-domain, multi-component and multinational exercise that brought together 10,000 troops ...
- Iowa: Man allegedly hid pipe bombs on golf course, detonated one
July 13, 2025
A man was arrested after he allegedly planted multiple pipe bombs on a golf course, with one exploding before authorities could defuse it. According to police statements obtained by local outlet KCCI, an explosion rocked the Waveland Golf Course on July 3 in the middle of the night. The course was closed, so luckily nobody was hurt, ...
- U.S. Air Force: Specialized EOD fitness test will gauge critical task ability
July 11, 2025
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) — Explosive Ordnance Disposal has been added as the next combat arms career field to require special sex and age neutral fitness standards. EOD joins other fields with heightened entry level and sustained physical fitness requirements. These requirements acknowledge that sustained endurance is necessary to tackle long hours in physically and mentally-taxing conditions. ...
- Canada to ‘align’ with U.S. airport screening rules as TSA drops shoes-off policy
July 9, 2025
Ottawa says it will work to align its flight security regulations with those in the U.S. after Washington dropped a rule that required passengers to remove their shoes during security screenings. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Tuesday that passengers at American airports no longer need to remove their shoes because officials have found other ...