Digital Forensics Dispatch

Canine Helps Take Down Identity Theft Ring

February 27, 2020

The use of police dogs to track and find evidence is not a new concept, however more and more police forces are enlisting the use of canines to sniff out electronic devices that may otherwise not be found. Lake County, IL has one of these specially trained canines, Browser, and he recently helped police search the home of Parrish Livingston. Livingston has now been charged in an identity theft scheme that has more than 100 victims, CBS Chicago reports.

His handler, Carol Gudbrandsen, said this about the canine, “He found devices that we missed – in dirty laundry, hidden high up on a desk, on shelving units above a desk – he was able to find those.” Browser and Gudbransen work for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office and have been a team for two years. In their two years, Browser has gone out on around 50 search warrants to sniff out electronic devices.

The canines receive special training to detect a chemical that is used in most electronics. Tod Jordan of Jordan Detection, handles the training of the dogs using the chemical Triphenylphosphine oxide or TPPO. These electronic detecting canines are not new, but the number of the canines being trained has increased tenfold in the U.S.

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