Bartholomew County looks to add K9 to help solve internet crimes against kids

COLUMBUS, Ind. - The Bartholomew County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force wants to add a 4-legged partner to the team.

The task force investigates and prosecutes internet-facilitated crimes against children. An electronic storage device (ESD) K9 assists officers in finding small electronic items containing evidence, and also helps comfort child victims of crimes.

A study of 2,273 search warrants executed in 2025 with ESD K9s revealed that these dogs had an 82% success rate in locating evidence missed in the initial search. The evidence the K9s recovered resulted in 1,478 arrests and the rescue of 428 survivors.

The ICAC task force is exploring ways to fund the project, which will entail an initial startup cost of $15,000. To learn more about the funding, email Jay Frederick at jfrederick@bartholomew.in.gov.