In today’s era, law enforcement canines have become a vital part in reducing crime for the police. Canines are well trained, obedient dogs that, unlike humans, do not fear the daily challenges that arise on the law enforcement job. Police units around the world often refer to police dogs as a “K-9” (which is a homophone of canine). K-9s are employed by most local police departments and all governmental agencies throughout the world.
The use of canines trace back to the time of the Romans, which used canines for security and hunting. It was common for the Romans and the Spanish conquistadors to use dogs during war time (Losowsky, 2013). In recent war time, the British, German and American military forces have proved that canine/soldier teams are beneficial. In
…show more content…
order to perform task such as sentry dogs, scout or patrol, messenger, or mine dogs, dogs are trained over a span of 12 weeks or less, depending on their speciality. In the Korean War, there was said to be about 1,500 dogs used as sentries(Losowsky, 2013). In order clear caves and tunnels of the Vietcong (during the Vietnam war), American troops utilized their trained dogs; They were also used to find booby traps and land mines (Losowsky, 2013). The most recent war use of a canine has been in the takedown of Osama Bin Ladin. The United States Navy Seals were said to use a specialized canine with titanium teeth in their classified mission to take down Al Qaeda’s rigorous terrorist leader. The dogs were usually loaned by citizens to the military so after the wars, the dogs were rehabilitated and returned. However, the use of dogs was still popular for law enforcement agencies. For example, while searching for Jack the Ripper in 1888, the English used bloodhounds, and during that time they allowed canines to accompany police, or bobbies, on patrol. In Ghent, Belgium, police started formally training dogs for police work in 1899. This popularity of using dogs enhanced for police work. Germany, by 1910, had police dogs in over 600 of their largest cities. In 1938, South London introduced two specially trained Labrador Retrievers to the Metropolitan Police Force to accompany bobbies on patrol. The initial step in becoming a K9 unit officer is to apply for a job in a law enforcement career. Most agencies possess demanding qualifications that include at least a high school education and excellent physical condition. After years of experience on the patrol side, required by most agencies, one can apply for a K9 unit. Many larger police organizations expect candidates to possess an associate’s degree or higher. After successfully completing the application process, recruits will attend a police or training academy. The application process tends to be very competitive as this position as a K9 unit officer opens rarely. Positions like for a unit like this often ends up being open if the K9 is unsuited to perform at its maximum capacity or if the dog dies in the line of duty. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, the total number of law enforcement agencies is 17,784 of which there are 15,736 police and sheriff departments and there are an estimated 796,518 canine officers. In the 1970’s the use of dogs in law enforcement took a foothold in the United States (Burns, 2014).
Today 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 excellent breeds include, but are not limited to, the Labrador Retriever, Belgian Malinois, and the Dutch Shepherd (Beaken, 2013). In today’s age, most local police agencies are transitioning from German Shepherds to Belgian Malinois because of their ability to work on the same level, better built, lighter weight and longer life span than the German Shepherd. Certain breeds have been used for special purposes, such as detecting illegal drugs or explosives, and tracking fugitives or missing persons (Burns, 2014). For law enforcement, police departments believe a well-trained canine team is essential to deterring criminal activity and for assisting in locating illegal drugs and explosives, in tracking fugitives, and with finding missing persons.Once the dog has found the item, it gives one of two kinds of
alerts.
Almost every state and there cities have a K-9 unit. But if you're like me, your not to sure what they exactly are and how they work. Well there are many different kinds of K9 units, like patrol dogs, narcotic dogs, arson detection dogs, and explosive detection dogs. Plus K-9 units have two helpful new technology pieces to help then protect there canine partners.
Dogs have impacted the lives of 44% of American families and homes. People use dogs for much more than just a family friend. Dogs are used for special needs, assisting police, and hunting and tracking. Dogs should be appreciated and never taught to fight or be neglected. Dog fighting is unethical because man’s best friend shouldn’t have to fight for their lives.
The use of canines in law enforcement is a tool that has been utilized for years around the world. In the 1970's the use of dogs to a foothold in the United States( 2013, dogsforlawenforcement.org). Canines assist local and federal law enforcement agencies in many ways such as locating and apprehending violent criminals, tracking missing people, sniffing out drugs or bombs
A dog handler working in the law enforcement field is basically an officer who has completed all of the requirements to become first a police officer, and then a specially trained officer working with other specially trained police canines. These highly trained dogs are either chosen or bred for their high intelligence and their strong sense of smell (Canine Officer Careers – K9 Job Description., 2015). There are many tasks that these dog handlers and canines have to perform on a daily basis. This is why it is important to have dogs that are well rounded in their intelligence and their sense of smell. Not only is the handler just a dog handler, but he maintains the duty of being a police officer and has to perform duties such as apprehending
Beltz, Pat. “Police dogs – Police K9 - Bomb dogs.” http://www.policedogtrainers.com/. Working Dogs International. Web.11/17/2010.
The first of this category would be the aggressive dog. This dog is the one that tends to be forceful and damaging. The aggressive dog will tear things apart when searching for drugs. This dog takes his or her job serious. You can compare these animals to human beings when it comes to work. Some human beings take their work serious as well. Most of the time an aggressive dog will make your job harder. You may have to do more to clean up an area after your search, because of the damage to the area. Aggressive drug dogs are not all the same. Their personalities come into play as well. I’ve been around these types of dogs when they have ripped a kitchen cabinet apart to get the drug they are looking for. A good example of an aggressive dog would be one that runs to fetch a thrown ball, and after retrieving the ball, begins to tear it to pieces. These types of dogs are known for performing their job the best.
2. Rottweiler: Ancient Roman cattle herders, cart pullers, and guardians, the rottweiler is known his gentleness with family and friends, and strength and bravery in defending them. Though known for his good nature, thorough training and socialization is an absolute must for puppies to mature into solid canine citizens.
There are many breeds of dogs to choose from some of the most common are golden retriever, German shepherd, and Labrador retriever. Many people can pick almost any breed they are looking for though. The common breeds I pointed out are used because of their intelligence, willingness to work, and their mobility. The dogs that help are really filling a hole that these people have.
Young people and the police have, for many years, experienced a tense and confrontational relationship (Borgquist & Johnson et al., 1995). This has led to a great wealth of literature based upon the notion of police-youth interaction. Much of this literature has tended to focus upon juvenile criminality and the reasons why young people commit such seemingly high levels of crime. Whilst the relationship between young people and the police force has been widely theorised and explained, there is very little literature on juvenile attiudes towards the police. Research that concerns societies attitudes towards the police force tends to focus upon the views and opinions of adults (Hurst and Frank, 2000). In this first section of my literature review I am going to focus upon work that allows us to gain a deeper understanding of why young people are so important when looking at crime. This section will allow us to comprehend the ways in which, literature suggests, young people view the police. This knowledge will provide a basis for my research in which I look more specifically at youth attitudes towards PCSO’s.
Emert, Phyllis Raybin., and Howard Schroeder. Law Enforcement Dogs. Mankato, MN: Crestwood House, 1985. Print.
From 'war dogs' trained in combat to their use as scouts, sentries and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military usage. War dogs were used by the Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Sarmatians, Baganda, Alans, Slavs, Britons, and the Romans as anything between pets to attack. Different breeds were used for different things, but always met the demands of their handlers. Many roles for dogs in war are obsolete and no longer practiced, but the concept of the war dog still remains alive and well in modern warfare. They were often used as unit mascots for military units. The mascot position was usually filled by an officer's dog, an animal that the unit chose to adopt, or one of their canines employed in another role as a working dog. Some naval dogs such as Sinbad and Judy were themselves enlisted service members. Some units also chose to employ a particular breed of dog as their standard mascot, with new dogs replacing the old when it died or was retired. The presence of a mascot was designed to uplift morale, and many were used to this effect in the trenches of World War I. Contemporary dogs in military roles are also often referred to as police dogs, or in the United States as a Military Working Dog (MWD), or K-9. Their roles are nearly as varied as their ancient cousins, though they tend to be more rarely used in front-line formations. As of 2011,
Around 10 thousand years ago the domestication of dog started. The main assumption is that we needed a dog to hunt, but more than likely wolf's approached us as a superior hunter to get our scraps stated by Brian Hare(1). Dogs have slowly moved their way to being man's best friend. We began using them for medical research. Us and dogs share a lot of homologs about 82% according to Xu Beixi(2). Dogs started by taking the tamest one and breeding that with more tame. We want submissive dogs They still carry traits from younger or juvenile wolves like barking, winning, and submissive rolling said by Jill Adams(3). The big thing to remember with dog genetics is that all dogs are the same with different paint jobs. People breed dogs for behaviors and appearances. The behaviors we
Maybe we are just using dogs in a wrong way. We shouldn’t let dogs help in a murder case or a rape case but, for cases such as search and rescue or alarm the police of people with illegal substances. Or if the police are adamant about using dogs in such cases they should be a little lenient on the suspect since dogs are known to make mistakes and not send the suspect to prison
Although they are often overlooked, police dogs (also known as "K9s") have done a lot to help communities around the world. Pet dogs can be adorable when taught tricks, but police dogs have learned how to master very complicated tasks that the police force wouldn’t be able to tackle without them. To better understand what police dogs are and how they affect the way police forces work, it might be helpful to first learn about
German Shepherds have a stereotype of being brave and smart. After all, they are one of the top breeds chosen for police training. They are also extremely loyal and make a great family dog. These are just some of the reasons this breed is so popular for families.