Police Dogs

Continental Europe was where the first police dogs appeared. Police in Paris used dogs in an effort to control street gangs roaming around at night, terrorising the local inhabitants.

The first organised dog unit was established by the police department in Ghent in Belgium In 1899

In the USA these canine departments are known as K9 units and  America is one of the few countries that still use bloodhounds for tracking, particularly in rural locations. Sometimes referred to as a nose with a dog attached the bloodhound is by far the best scent hound in existence but unfortunately most police units around the world use dual-purpose dogs purely for reasons of practicality and cost.

Japan is one of the few Asian countries that have a dedicated dog unit. There are cultural issues in many other countries in this region that prevent the use of dogs. It’s not surprising that dogs are used in Japan because as far back as the 16th-century Samurai warriors used Akita dogs for protection whilst they slept.

In Peru, the police have a dedicated unit called the Canine Brigade of Plant Health which is used in Jorge Chavez International Airport to detect the illegal importation of plants and fruit that might be infected and contain pests.

Although they use other breeds the Indian police service has its own special breed called the Indian pariah dog also known as the Indian native dog.

It would be fair to say that the attempt to introduce dogs to the British police service in 1889 was not a qualified success. Under much criticism for his failure to capture Jack the Ripper the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Charles Warren, had two bloodhounds trained with the intention of having them follow the scent of the perpetrator of these horrible crimes, unfortunately, one of the canine recruits bit the commissioner, both ran away and a search had to instigated to find the recalcitrant hounds.

From this inauspicious start, the police dog is now an invaluable resource in the battle against criminals.

There are currently some 2500 police dogs in the UK, some of these are general-purpose dogs and the others are specialist canines. Experienced dog handlers will have two dogs in their vehicle.  One for tracking and the apprehension of suspects, these dogs will be typically German Shepherds, however, the favoured dog these days is the Belgian Malinois. The other dog will be for finding money, drugs, firearms, contraband etc and will be a Springer Spaniel or a similar breed.  Specialist cadaver dogs are also available if required.

In many countries the intentional injuring or killing of a police dog is a criminal offence, however in Britain, bizarrely it was not until quite recently. This strange anomaly was brought to light in the case of police dog Finn.

Finn, when on patrol with his handler Police Constable Dave Wardell was seriously injured having been stabbed whilst apprehending a suspect. Despite being stabbed he continued to protect PC Wardell, refusing to release his hold on the suspect who was wielding a 10-inch knife until reinforcements arrived. His life was saved due to the prompt actions of his handler and the skill of the veterinary surgeon who operated.

When it came to charging the suspect with causing the near-fatal stabbing it was found that under British law a police dog had no status and as such had no legal protection and the individual could only be charged with criminal damage. It transpired that in law the deliberate injuring of a police dog or horse was on a par with, for instance, breaking a window. PC Wardell campaigned vigorously for a change in the law and finally, an attempt was made to introduce legislation to provide protection for police dogs and horses. The attempt by an MP to introduce a private members bill to protect police dogs and horses was foiled by Sir Christopher Chope the member of parliament for Christchurch.

Due to the strange workings of Westminster when it comes to private members bill in the commons it only needs one MP to object and the legislation is lost despite support from both the government and all opposition parties.

Christopher Chope also objected to legislation to ban wild animals in circuses.

I offer no comment on this man’s actions, I leave you to make up your own mind.

Finally, in 2019 the UK Government introduced the Animal Welfare (Service Animal) Bill which was passed unopposed. It became law and now it is a criminal offence to injure or kill a police dog or horse. Also, people who do this can no longer claim self-defence. The penalty for these offences are a maximum prison term of 5 years, a distinct improvement but still doesn’t go far enough in my opinion. In the state of Pennsylvania in the USA the maximum penalty for injuring a police dog is a $25,000 fine and a 10-year prison sentence.

An example of the contribution of these dogs is Janus, a Belgian Malinois. Under the supervision of his handler PC Dan Thomas his arrest record in approximately 4 years was around 440, of which some 60 individuals who were apprehended needed hospital treatment. (no sympathy, they should have stopped when told to do so!) Janus also was responsible for the recovery of tens of thousands of pounds worth of stolen items. In 2021 this extraordinary dog retired at 9 years of age and went to live with Dan as a pet. I can well imagine the collective sigh of relief from the criminal fraternity but before they start celebrating I am informed that “Janus mark2” (name withheld) is now out and about!

Criminals know that they cannot argue, negotiate or spin a story to a police dog. The dog is immune to entreaties of innocence. The mere sight of a highly trained German Shepherd or a Malinois baring his teeth is usually enough to subdue the majority of felons.

In the UK all police dogs are required to be licenced to work. They are tested at the completion of their training and tested yearly until they retire. The standards are laid down by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) subcommittee on police dogs

For those who would like a first-hand account of what it is like to work with a police dog, I suggest maybe you try “My hero Theo” a book published in 2020 by Harper Collins and written by his handler PC Gareth Greaves It won’t always be easy reading as the reader is allowed into the world of canine policing, the successes, the failures, but above all the dangers. This book will give an insight into the relationship between handler and dog even to the extent that the bond is so strong that both will risk death to protect each other.

Not all police dogs get it right and cover themselves in glory.

For the story of Fergus, see The Royal B.

As for my personal contact with these dogs, it was when I was a veterinary nurse and these dogs were brought in for their yearly boosters and occasionally to be treated for their injuries which during my time thankfully were few and relatively minor.

As a young man in his teens naturally, I thought I was “God’s Gift” when it came to working with animals, dogs in particular.

I was proud of my skill but my youthful arrogance was tested the day I encountered Zeus Police dog Zeus was a Doberman, I had been present at his yearly check up on one occasion but apart from that one experience, I knew nothing about this particular dog.

On the day in question I was on the late shift 2 pm-10 pm and amongst the dogs that already had been operated on was Zeus who had been suffering from toothache and the offending molar had been extracted. Of course, common sense should have told me that a police dog was not going to be a cuddly creature at the best of times, and having had toothache this was never going to improve his disposition. Also having just recovered from being anaesthetized certainly wasn’t going to improve matters.

At approximately 5 pm PC Wilcox arrived to collect his dog and offered to accompany me to the recovery room Naturally the confidence of youth led me to decline his offer and I headed off to collect Zeus  It was common practice particularly with the bigger dogs or those with temperament issues to leave the lead attached to a hook outside the kennel door. Imagine my horror as I discovered that Zeus was not attached to a lead as I was expecting and I was going to have to reach in and retrieve the lead before I could return Zeus to his handler.

With all the confidence that I could muster, I reached in and took hold of the lead. Zeus lifted his upper lip to expose a full set of teeth minus 1. The fact that he now only had 41 teeth instead of a full set of 42 was of no comfort. A small amount of dried blood on his teeth gave him a look of Dracula who had just sunk his teeth into the neck of a maiden En route Zeus never took his eyes off me, a cold unrelenting stare said it all, “who is this idiot and where is he going with me?”

Breathing a sigh of relief I handed him back Master and dog shared a wildly effusive reunion.

The police officer gave me an admiring glance and a broad grin.

“You’ve got some nerve mate, there’s not many who would do that, even my mates don’t like handling Zeus.”

Zeus gave me a final malevolent look.

At that moment I realised that I wasn’t as clever as I thought.

I had sailed very close to the wind and got away with it!!

Another of life’s lessons had been learnt.

And finally for those who like to see one of these dogs in action, probably one of the most famous to be on video is Duke, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, a former US marine corps dog who had worked in Iraq. This incident occurred whilst he was working with the California Police Dept.

Captured for posterity in the takedown of a wanted suspect Duke has become a legend due to his actions being reported on media around the world and going viral on YouTube having been seen millions of times.

The background was that the wanted suspect had been forcibly stopped by the police, was obviously agitated and he was refusing to exit his vehicle. The police not knowing if he had a weapon broke the side window with rubber pellets, making a small hole and then released the dog. What happened next stunned even experienced dog handlers. Not only did Duke demonstrate his remarkable speed and agility but he crashed through the vehicles’ window to engage the suspect.

When watching the video, whatever you don’t blink!!

Despite crashing through broken glass Duke suffered no injuries.

The individual needed hospital treatment and was charged with a variety of serious offences, however, in my opinion, as Duke had to go through a window the suspect should have also been charged with animal cruelty!!