It is a faulty argument to square the Albert Lea Police Department&8217;s effort in community policing against the department&8217;s drug-sniffing dog.

It shouldn&8217;t be: cut the dog so we can focus on community policing.

It should be: make the dog part of the community policing effort.

To be sure, no one is planning to cut the K-9 program anytime soon, but it is on the table when the present dog retires from the K-9 program in four or five years.

People in Albert Lea want community policing and the Tribune wholeheartedly supports that effort. But people also want to fight the scourge of drugs. The drug dog not only helps our crossroads city fight crime, but it serves as a mascot &8212; an ambassador for the department &8212; when officers makes presentations at schools and around the community. In this way the dog is part of the community policing effort.

And if the department incorporates the dog into some of its walking patrols, it thus becomes a part of the community policing effort in yet another way.

People feel safer because the department has a drug dog, and crooks are deterred to a degree because they know the Albert Lea Police Department has a drug dog.

If the K-9 program helped reduce drugs on the streets of Albert Lea by one iota, then the program was worth having.

Neiko, the department&8217;s drug-sniffing dog, has been involved in 131 felony drug arrests. She&8217;s earned her keep and the program&8217;s keep.