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Law enforcement agencies throughout the world have long recognized the value of properly trained police service dogs. These animals, when appropriately utilized, have time and time again proved themselves instrumental in achieving the objectives and missions of the law enforcement agency. The police K-9, due to its strength, agility, courage, and amazing olfactory capabilities can be utilized to assist law enforcement in various tasks in a more thorough and efficient manner.
Because of these attributes, some police service dogs can be utilized to assist in searching for potentially violent criminals, aid in the apprehension of fleeing criminals who may place innocent community members or other police officers at risk of injury. The dogs also offer the department an effective public relations tool to disseminate information about the Police Department’s mission, functions, and crime fighting efforts.
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Texas
Rangers and FBI agents accompany |
The Port Arthur Police Department's K-9 Detail has a strong record of success in finding lost, missing, and fugitive persons along with victims of drowning. The Narcotics canines have located illegal drugs in some of the most difficult and unlikely hiding places. Amounts vary from month to month, but the PAPD K-9 Detail is often responsible for locating and seizing many grams of methamphetamines and heroin, cocaine and marijuana. In potentially dangerous situations, the police K-9 can often assume the risk by preventing exposure of a police officer to a violent confrontation.
The Port Arthur Police Department uses three kinds of canines: Trailing Canines, Cadaver Canines, and Narcotics Canines. Each canine is a specialist. The Port Arthur Police Department K-9 Detail consists of 4 Officers and 6 Canines: 4 trailing bloodhounds with two of the bloodhounds cross-trained as cadaver canines; 2 German Shepherd's serve as Narcotics Canines. The "job descriptions" for the PAPD Canines are:
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Detective Holmes
and Officer Sterling |
The ability of the police K-9s to locate concealed narcotics contraband rests with two major qualities which are inherent in the police service dog. The first is the dog’s amazing olfactory (sense of smell) capability. When the remarkable sense is coupled with the dog’s strong play drive, the dogs are taught to associate the scent of specific narcotics with their "reward" or "toy." To earn this reward, the dogs are trained to search boxes, rooms, yards, automobiles, and any other locations where there is a likelihood someone may have concealed narcotics contraband. An effort is made to prevent the dog from coming into direct contact with any of these drugs as these drugs are as poisonous to dogs as they are to humans. Suspects sometimes use distraction scents to mask the odor of narcotics contraband in an attempt to foil the detection capabilities of the animals. However, for the most part, these efforts have failed as documented by the hundreds and hundreds of pounds of seized narcotics
contraband which were destined for street-level sales. The Port Arthur Police Department Narcotics Canines have been trained and are certified to detect the presence of marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine.
These dogs are trained to search for people
(missing persons, lost children, lost elderly people, and criminals, such as
burglars, robbers, car thieves, etc.)
Man-trailing
is the act of following one specific scent, while disregarding all other scents
that are in the area, and track that one scent. The Bloodhound's
extraordinary ability to pick up the scent left behind is second to none.
“Bo” also works "line-ups".
Line-ups are used near the scene of a crime. The suspect’s scent sample
from the crime scene can be delivered to the area were the suspect is located
and “Bo” will be able, with a sniff of the sample from the crime scene, to
walk around a line-up of three to four suspects and identify the
individual that was at the crime scene. The nose of a Bloodhound is so
good that evidence found by a Bloodhound will hold up in matters involving the
United States Supreme Court.
One relatively new area of specialization, that is very promising, involves the use of canines to detect the presence of human remains. These dogs can be trained to detect human remains long after death., despite burial or attempted concealment. Trained dogs are able to distinguish between human remains, animal remains, and a wide range of other odors that would normally be expected to distract them. Thus, their ability to distinguish between sources of similar biological odors enhances their application in the area of Human Remains Detection (HRD). These specially trained canines are used to detect human remains on both land and in water.
Handler |
Canine |
Breed |
Job Description |
| Detective Mark Holmes | "Bo" | Bloodhound | Trailing/ Cadaver |
| Detective Mark Holmes | "Buster" | Bloodhound | Trailing |
| Officer Mickey Sterling | "Dixie" | Bloodhound | Trailing/ Cadaver |
| Officer Mickey Sterling | "Doc" | Bloodhound | Trailing |
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Detective Holmes with "Bo" |
The Port Arthur Police Department Canines (trailing, cadaver and narcotics detection) are trained in-house by the K-9 Detail. Training continues throughout the career of each Canine. The canine members of the Port Arthur Police Department are kenneled at their handlers' homes. Although not a "family-pet," the dogs are members of each handler's family. Handlers are quick to point out that all Canines are "working dogs," not pets. Because these animals are so well trained and have stable, obedient personalities, they fit well into the officers' families, and are properly obedient and respectful around the officers' children and family pets.
The Port Arthur Police K-9 Detail provides informative talks and K-9 demonstrations to schools, clubs, and professional organizations about the functions of police canines and how they are able to assist law enforcement officers to perform their job more effectively. The K-9 Detail also gives short demonstrations which allow participants to view first-hand how the police canine works. These demonstrations help dispel any false impressions the public may have about police K-9's as well as increase and improve police community relations.
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