recently we went inside the star to learn more about the canine unit sergeant randy corlett filled us in on why it's so important hi i'm sergeant randy corlett with the pinellas county sheriff's office k-9 unit the k-9 unit is invaluable they provide many different services not only do we locate suspects that have fled on foot from crimes and or deputies they're also able to locate missing children they're all of our dogs at some point their careers will be dual certified where they'll either be able to find illegal drugs or explosive detection where they respond to bomb threats or major events like the the rnc that was here a while back the baseball playoffs the grand prix they respond to these events and they sweep the areas to make it safe for the citizens the k-9 unit consists of 12 dog handler teams and trains on a weekly basis each team averages about 30 catches per year meaning that our four-legged deputies put roughly 350 people behind bars annually thanks to new recruits like odin the k-9 unit will continue to help us lead the way for a safer pinellas this was brought to you by inside the star your window into the pinellas county sheriff's office