POLICE K9

POLICE DOGS

HISTORY:

   The first recorded use of dogs doing police work was in St. Malo, France in the early 14th century, when they were used to guard dock installations. This use of dogs continued until 1770 when it was abolished after a young naval officer was accidentally killed by one of the dogs. The next known police employment of dogs was in Paris in 1895 to combat street gangs that were causing police problems but, it was not until 1888 until the modern police dog first came into being. It was at that time when the London Metropolitan Police Force first used two bloodhounds to track suspects by scent as part of the infamous Jack the Ripper investigation. The Ripper was never apprehended, but the use of dogs as part of the Met continued.

   In 1920 a school was established in Greenheide, Germany, the first of its kind for the training of dogs for use in the field of law enforcement. Here the dogs were trained in basic obedience, tracking and searching. From this school came the plans and criteria for those to come and much of the training system used in modern dog section operations has been taken from Greenheide.

   By 1910, railway police forces were experimenting with other breeds such as Labrador Retrievers, Doberman Pinschers, and German Shepherds and by 1946 various other police forces were experimenting with dogs. In 1954 a standing committee was formed to co-ordinate the breeding, supply and training of police dogs throughout the UK.

   In the 1970’s the use of dogs in law enforcement took a foothold in the United States.  Now they are considered a part of the police force, and in many departments they even have their own badges.  From the hundreds of dog breeds, there are some that are widely known for their presence in law enforcement.  The most widely trained dog for regular patrol work is the German Shepherd. Other exemplary breeds include but, are not limited to the Labrador Retriever, Belgian Malinois, and the Dutch Shepherd.  

   Today, police forces in most major cities use police dogs to track criminals, sniff out illegal materials, search buildings, and do other jobs human police officers can't do as well as a dog can. Not only are there thousands of police dogs on the job on any given day, but there are also hundreds of police dogs who have given their lives to protect and serve.

 

POLICE DOG BREEDS AND PORPOUSE:

·         Australian Shepherd – drugs/explosives sniffing, order enforcement, tracking
·         Basset Bound - drugs/explosives sniffing
·         Beagle - drugs/explosives sniffing
·         Belgian Malinois – drugs/explosives sniffing, order enforcement
·         Bloodhound – tracking, order enforcement
·         Coonhound – tracking
·         Doberman Pinscher - order enforcement
·         Dutch Shepherd - order enforcement
·         English Cocker Spaniel - drugs/explosives sniffing
·         English Springer Spaniel - drugs/explosives sniffing
·         Foxhound - drugs/explosives sniffing
·         German Shepherd - drugs/explosives sniffing, order enforcement, tracking, cadaver sniffing
·         Golden Retriever - drugs/explosives sniffing, tracking, cadaver sniffing
·         Labrador Retriever - drugs/explosives sniffing, tracking, cadaver sniffing
·         Pitbull - drugs/explosives sniffing, order enforcement
·         Sulimov Dog - drugs/explosives sniffing
·         Schnauzer - drugs/explosives sniffing
·         Weimaraner - drugs/explosives sniffing

RETIREMENT:

   Police dogs are retired if they become injured to an extent where they will not recover completely, pregnant, or raising puppies, or are too old or sick to continue working. Since many dogs are raised in working environments for the first year of their life and retired before they become unable to perform, the working life of a dog is 6–9 years.

 

IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

   What most civilians don’t realize is that K-9 officer are truly considered full-fledged police officers. Assaulting, injuring, or killing a K-9 officer carries the same punishment under the law as the same crimes committed against human officers. In fact, some law enforcement agencies consider it acceptable for human officers to open fire on a suspect that is intentionally hurting a police dog with the intent to kill it. Dogs killed in the line of duty are afforded a complete police funeral, bagpipes and all.