The Londonderry Police Department currently has one K-9 officer.  The K-9 unit is a highly specialized division which requires continuous intensive training for both the officer and the dog.  The type of K-9 used in the department is a German Shepherd, due to its overall qualities of intelligence, assertiveness, and tracking capabilities.  The K-9 officer is equipped with a special cruiser that allows the dog to be on patrol with his handler.  The versatile nature of the K-9 unit allows for finding missing persons, tracking fugitives or suspects on foot, crowd control, drug interdiction, and building searches.  Usage of the K-9 provides enhanced officer safety by using the dog's superior sense of smell and hearing during high-risk incidents that an officer would be unable to detect.