Peel Police's First-Ever Electronic Storage Detection Dog

Meet Harley, the first dog in Canada trained to seek out digital storage devices through scent and deployed with the Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) to support officers during search warrants.

Earlier this year, the ICE Unit of Peel Regional Police welcomed Harley to the team as an Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) canine. She is a two-year-old female yellow Labrador Retriever who, along with her handler D/Cst Jay Vanderburgh, recently graduated from the initial ESD canine course in Indianapolis, Indiana. Harley has already accompanied the ICE Unit on search warrants and quickly achieved success. On one of her first search warrants, Harley located four different devices that were of interest to investigators. 

Peel Regional Police obtained Harley through the assistance of the charity Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.).  O.U.R. supports law enforcement in its efforts to combat online child exploitation and human trafficking. They work to ensure officers have the tools they need by donating ESD canines which help officers locate the necessary evidence to prosecute those who exploit children.

In addition to working on search warrants, Harley will perform the secondary role of an emotional support dog for both victims and Peel Police members. Like the vast majority of Labrador Retrievers, she has a friendly and playful disposition and loves the company of people. Her demeanor will allow her to support the Special Victims Unit during interviews, along with on-duty officers who need a break and a friendly ‘lab’ face to help get them through their day.

According to Detective Andrew Ullock, “Harley has very quickly transformed the day-to-day workings of the ICE Unit. Her presence provides amazing support to officers who must do a very challenging job and she lightens the mood in a way only a dog can. In the field, she is already transforming how we conduct searches for evidence and she is making us much more efficient at what we do. We are very proud to deploy Canada’s very first ESD canine.”