NCJ Number
197610
Journal
Campus Safety Journal Volume: 10 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2002 Pages: 12-15
Editor(s)
Tom Nelson
Date Published
October 2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article examines how a canine unit can be established and effective within the traditional campus police model for the purpose of explosives and narcotics detection.
Abstract
Canine units have been successfully utilized for their crime-control strategies in narcotics and explosives detection within municipal, county, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies. Trained search dogs were seen as 33 percent more effective in the number of possible narcotic arrests than officers without narcotics-trained dogs, and canines had an explosives detection reliability of 95 percent compared to 55 percent for humans. This article explores the implementation of canine units within school campuses suffering the same crime ills that many cities and States do. Before implementing a campus police canine unit, an agency should seek the advice of canine practitioners in the purchase and training of dogs to reduce the risk of exploitation. Factors involved in the purchase and training option include: the amount of training the dog has received before purchase; the length of time that the dog and training handler have been together; and the location of where the training is offered. In addition, before purchasing a dog it is necessary to determine the function of the dog within the agency. A single-purpose scent detection dog for narcotics or explosives can be of virtually any breed. However, dogs should not be trained to search for both explosives and narcotics. Campuses provide many possibilities for dogs trained in scent detection work.