(SMYRNA, Del.) - The Delaware State Police Mounted Patrol Unit has been augmenting the troopers' patrol since July of 2012.
Through a partnership with the Department of Correction, the mounted unit has been housed at the Central Violation of Probation in Smyrna for the last three years.
Cpl. Alison Meadows, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the unit, is thankful of all of the state entities that support this non-profit organization. "Approximately eight acres were donated to the Delaware State Police by the Department of Correction state land to build an equine facility for our training to house our 7 horses."
This unit functions off of more donations than that. All of the police horses are donated from owners in the mid-Atlantic states. Three of them are from Delaware. The owners are able to come visit the horses while they're working for the State Police.
Partnering with the DOC gives the 14 troopers in this unit some extra hands.
"We also have lower level offenders that work in our facility. They help take care of the exterior premises as well as the inside of the barn. They learn different skills and traits that are needed to maintain horses."
The minimum age to be a police horse is four. Upon arrival, the horses are assessed for 90 to 120 days to make sure they meet the criteria to do police work. These horses cover ground statewide, focusing on community outreach and crowd control by attending events, giving demonstrations, and patrolling with the officers. The horses are typically employed for up to five years and they are constantly training.
"It's just an extra sense of presence. We're now on the horse where we can engage the citizen on the ground. You don't have the windows and the barriers of a car. While a lot of times, citizens won't walk up to us in a patrol car, however, they see the horses, that's very inviting. That breaks down a lot of barriers that currently exist in our society," says Meadows.
For more information about the Delaware State Police Mounted Patrol Unit and its upcoming events, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DelawareStatePoliceMountedPatrolUnitInc/