Indiana State Police Graduate New K9 Team, Local Trooper Included

The Indiana State Police formally recognized nine new K9 handler teams on December 11, 2025 after completion of the agency s 16th K9 Training School. Trooper Austin Collins of the Jasper Post and his partner Leo were among the graduates. The teams completed an intensive training program designed to prepare them for patrol duties and complex enforcement scenarios.

The annual K9 School is a 12 week program held in Indianapolis that provides more than 480 hours of instruction. Training covers obedience, tracking, locating articles of evidence, apprehension of fighting or fleeing suspects, building searches, narcotics detection, and handler protection. Instruction also includes K9 legal concepts, classes on odor detection theory, and tracking situations. Teams trained at night and in varying conditions with scenario based problem solving for eight to ten hours a day.

Leo is a Belgian Malinois imported from Poland, and is just over a year old. The K9 breeds used by the Indiana State Police include German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, and Dutch Shepherds, all imported from Europe. Teams are certified through the Dogs for Law Enforcement Organization, a credential that supports evidence admissibility and standardized operational readiness.

Trooper Collins is a three year veteran of the Indiana State Police and previously served three years with the French Lick Police Department. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran and holds multiple certifications and roles within the agency, including drug recognition expert, field training officer, member of the Indiana State Police Honor Guard, certified breath test operator, and former member of the tactical intervention platoon. As a patrol K9 team, Trooper Collins and Leo will regularly respond to calls across the entire Jasper District.

For Dubois County residents, the new team brings expanded capacity for narcotics interdiction, suspect tracking, and safer building searches during nights and adverse conditions. The certification and rigorous training behind each K9 partnership aim to increase community safety, support local law enforcement responses, and strengthen investigative outcomes when K9 evidence is needed.