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Concept
Police dog
Summary
A police dog is a dog that is trained to assist police and other law enforcement officers, search and rescue, or the military. Their duties may include searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, finding crime scene evidence, protecting officers and other people, and attacking suspects who flee from officers. The breeds most commonly used by law enforcement are the German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Bloodhound, Dutch Shepherd, and Labrador Retriever. In recent years, the Belgian Malinois has become the leading choice for police and military work due to their intense drive, focus, agility, and smaller size, though German Shepherds remain the breed most associated with law enforcement.
Police dogs are used on a federal and local level for law enforcement purposes in many parts of the world. They are often assigned to a K-9 Unit with a specific handler, and must remember several verbal cues and hand gestures. Initial training for a police dog typically takes between eight months and a year, depending on where and how they are trained, and for what purpose. Police dogs often regularly take training programs with their assigned handler to reinforce their training. In many countries, intentionally injuring or killing a police dog is a criminal offense.
In some English-speaking countries, police dog units are referred to as K-9 or K9, which is a homophone of the word canine.
Dogs have been used in law enforcement since the Middle Ages. Wealth and money was then tithed in the villages for the upkeep of the parish constable's bloodhounds that were used for hunting down outlaws. The first recorded use of police dogs were in the early 14th century in St. Malo, France, where dogs were used to guard docks and piers. By the late 14th century, bloodhounds were used in Scotland, known as "Slough dogs" – the word "Sleuth", (meaning detective) was derived from this. Between the 12th and 20th centuries, police dogs on the British Isles and European continent were primarily used for their tracking abilities.
Official source
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