And work as a k-9 handler An officer needs to understand the versatility of a dog and be aware of how he can best work with the team. Police dogs are an effective resource at the officer’s hands. Fleeing suspects, searching for stolen property, locating and recovering evidence of a crime scene, or apprehending armed and dangerous suspects. These are duties of a k-9 officer and the handler. Not only do the officers work together but they also live together. The two spend about every moment by each other’s side; this takes patients and a lot of work for one another to be confortable. The primary objective of the k9 team is to search for suspects or evidence linked to a specific crime. …show more content…
I had wondered, what if there is high winds or rain to ruin the airborne scent? According to Lieutenant Cox of the Salina police department, there is a technique called “Scent Trails.” Wherever a person goes they shed thousands of skin particles. These are called rafts and they come in contact with the surrounding area and lay on many items, the k-9 will pick up the scent of the individual through these rafts. Also as the suspect flees through different surfaces this produces fresh scents. This makes new fresh odors for the dogs to fallow, could be split leaves or smashed bugs. This idea of new scents is called ground scents.
Since the dog has a very strong “olfactory lobe” (pg. 25, Eden) of the brain this enables them to freely discriminate scent. Although the track may be contaminated by other peoples scent, the dog can still distinguish between the original tracks. Obviously the more contamination there is, the harder the dog will have to fight and sort between the scents. The movement of people through the scene can often blow the suspects scents into other directions and lead the dog on the wrong path. Thus, sometimes it is up to the handler at the scene to preserve and contain the area for the …show more content…
This may be needed to deliver a testimony or defend against a statement. Police dogs are trained to behave and be tame in social settings, and they become increasingly better at handling new places, settings and environments. The average day for a police dog on duty runs an eight to nine hour shift. The K9 is often found traveling in a special police car made with a backseat for their dog. These are separated from the drivers seat and help make traveling with a K9 much easier. Most k9 patrol cars do not have a transportation seat and often have to call backup to transfer a suspect.
At the end of the day, the K9 gets a good night 's rest to tackle the next set of situations in the day ahead. Being a k9 handler takes a special kind of person. One that is very competitive and self-sufficient. As a handler you need to know your k9 in and out just as the k9 should know the handler. Many extra matters are needed when you are a handler, although without the dogs, countless crimes, suspects and cases would never be solved. I personally am very interested in the field and continue to be more fascinated the more I