ODRC Earns 'Top Dog' Honors at National Conference

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ODRC Earns "Top Dog" Honors at National Conference

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) was recently awarded a national honor for its achievements in its drug-detecting K9 program at an annual conference in New York.

The "K9 Behind the Walls" conference, held annually in New York, is organized by the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. States from across the country gather to network and share ideas on how to address issues surrounding prisons nationwide.

This year, numerous sessions discussed synthetic drugs and drug-soaked paper, which remain some of the biggest security threats in Ohio prisons and prisons across the country.

During the conference, participants competed to determine the "Top Dog" by searching for hidden drug stashes in several rooms. Security Threat Group Coordinator Matt Gillum and his K9 partner, Bae, found all three drug stashes in just two minutes and 35 seconds, earning the title of "Top Dog." They outperformed 49 other teams from correctional agencies across the country.

Matt Gillum and K9 Bae

"In my 29 years in (ODRC), our drug-detecting K9s are the most proactive approach we've had to prevent drugs from entering our facilities," said Gillum. ODRC K9s and their handlers randomly sweep institutions and warehouses for contraband. The amount of contraband the K9s have been able to detect has been demonstrable:

Major Contraband Found by ODRC K9s

ODRC data from January 2020 through July 2025

The total value of all this contraband exceeds $115 million.

ODRC currently has 14 drug-detecting K9s that cover all 28 prisons across the state.

K9 Training B-Roll

"Drugs and drug-soaked paper are the biggest threat to the safety of all of our staff working inside our prisons and those who live in them," said ODRC Director Annette Chambers-Smith. "Our K9s and trainers, like Bae and Matt, have proven to be one of the best ways to uncover these threats. Conferences like the one in New York prove that this issue is faced by every correction agency in the country, and it takes a collaborative effort to combat the issue."

Photos of Bae