Detection dog
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a
A police dog is essentially a detection dog that is used as a resource for police in specific scenarios such as conducting drug raids, finding missing criminals, and locating stashed currency. Frequently, detection dogs are thought to be used for law enforcement purposes. Experts say that dog-sniff evidence should not be used in the criminal justice system, pointing to wrongful convictions, human biases that skew animal behavior, and the lack of systematic research into what dogs detect or how they do it.[2]
Although detection dogs are often used for law enforcement purposes, they are also used as a valuable research tool for wildlife biologists. In
Functions
Detection dogs have been trained to search for many things, both animate and inanimate, including:
- Bed bugs
- Cancer detection
- customs)
- Drugs[5]
- Endangered animal species (e.g., black-footed ferret)[6][7]
- Explosives
- Fire accelerants (e.g., arson investigation)
- Firearms
- Gourmet fungi, such as truffles (e.g. French black truffle (Tuber melanosporum), Italian white truffle (Tuber magnatum), chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius), porcini (Boletus edulis), morels (Morchella esculenta), and other varieties of mushroom.
- Human remains
- Invasive species (e.g., quagga mussel)[8]
- Ivory
- Mobile phones (e.g. as contraband in prisons)[9]
- Mold[10]
- Plants, animals, produce, and agricultural items that have to go through customs
- SIM cards[11]
- Termites
- Diabetes
- USB drives[11]
- Wildlife scat
Sniffer dogs can be trained to locate small infestations of invasive and non-native weeds. The world's first
She followed it up with 98% in the final trials in open fields, demonstrating that dogs can effectively detect low densities of invasive plants.[13]
Detection dogs are able to discern individual scents even when the scents are combined or masked by other odors. In 2002, a detection dog foiled a woman's attempt to smuggle marijuana into an Australian prison in Brisbane. The marijuana had been inserted into a balloon, which was smeared with coffee, pepper, and petroleum jelly and then placed in her bra.[14]
Bed bug detection dogs
Detection dogs are often specially trained by handlers to identify the scent of
The National Pest Management Association released their "Bed Bug Best Management Practices" [15] in 2011 which outlines the minimum recommendations regarding not only treatment, but the certification and use of bed bug detection canines. The NPMA's Best Management Practices emphasizes the importance of having bed bug detection dog teams certified by third party organizations who are not affiliated to the trainer or company that sold the canine.
Scientists at the
Bed bug detection dogs should be certified by a national organization like the World Detector Dog Organization (WDDO) or the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association (NESDCA). There are a few independent K9 bed bug inspection companies that have multiple certifications.
Wildlife scat detection
COVID-19 detection
Some countries have trained dogs to detect COVID-19. Australia has been using some of these in 2021.[24]
Researchers in Paris in March 2022 reported in a preprint not yet peer-reviewed that trained dogs were very effective for rapidly detecting the presence of SARS-Cov2 in people, whether displaying symptoms or not. The dogs were presented with sweat samples to smell from 335 people, of whom 78 with symptoms and 31 without tested positive by PCR. The dogs detected 97% of the symptomatic and 100% of the asymptomatic infections. They were 91% accurate at identifying volunteers who were not infected, and 94% accurate at ruling out the infection in people without symptoms. The authors said "Canine testing is non-invasive and provides immediate and reliable results. Further studies will be focused on direct sniffing by dogs to evaluate sniffer dogs for mass pre-test in airports, harbors, railways stations, cultural activities, or sporting events."[25][26]
Criticism
Accuracy
Australia
In 2001, the Australian state of New South Wales introduced legislation that granted police the power to use drug detection dogs without a warrant in public places such as licensed venues, music festivals, and public transport (see New South Wales Police Force strip search scandal).[27] The law was reviewed in 2006 by the New South Wales Ombudsman, who handed down a critical report regarding the use of dogs for drug detection. The report stated that prohibited drugs were found in only 26% of searches following an indication by a drug sniffer dog. Of these, 84% were for small amounts of cannabis deemed for personal use. The report also found that the legislation was ineffective at detecting persons in supply of prohibited drugs, with only 0.19% of indications ultimately leading to a successful prosecution for supply.[28][29]
United States
In 2011, civil rights activists claimed that detection dogs responses are influenced by the biases and behaviors of their handlers, which can hinder accuracy.[30] Another factor that affects accuracy is residual odors. Residual odors can linger even after illegal materials have been removed from a particular area, and can lead to false alarms. Additionally, very few states have mandatory training, testing, or certification standards for detection dogs.[30] This leaves people to question whether they are truly equipped to carry out searches.
Sniffer dogs can be trained to detect crop pests and diseases. A study by the US Department of Agriculture found that sniffer dogs identified trees infected with citrus greening disease with 99% accuracy; they could detect infection as early as two weeks after onset.[31]
Civil rights
Detection dogs give police the potential to conduct searches without cause, in a manner that is unregulated.
In Norway, students were subjected to a drug search in their classroom by a detection dog. The students didn't have to be present in the room while the dogs searched; however, they were forced to answer questions by the police instead.[36] An article in Tidsskrift for strafferett, Norway's journal of criminal law, claims that such searches breach Norwegian law.[36]
Detector dogs have been used by secret police and security services to support campaigns of political persecution. For example, sweat collected from subjects following interrogation was used by the Stasi to train dogs to respond to their scent.[37]
See also
- Canine cancer detection – Practice of using dogs' senses of smell to detect cancer
- Clever Hans effect- animals responding to human cues
- Demining – Process of removing land mines
- Diabetes alert dog – Assistance dog trained to monitor humans
- Dogs in warfare
- Florida v. Harris
- Florida v. Jardines
- Lucky and Flo – Detection dogs - optical disc-detecting dogs
- Mine clearance agency
- Nosework – dog sport or dog training with scents
- Police dog – Dog trained and used for law enforcement
- Working dog – Dog trained to perform practical tasks
References
- ^ Jenkins, Austin (22 July 2009). "KPLU: Dogs Used to Sniff Out Cell Phones in NW Prisons". Publicbroadcasting.net. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
- ^ "Should a dog's sniff be enough to convict a person of murder?". science.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- doi:10.1890/100071.
- ^ PMID 22701560.
- ^ "Sniffer dogs can help enhance fight against drug traffickers, says trainer". 1 April 2012.
- S2CID 53534532.
- ^ King, Anthony (24 August 2013). "The nose knows". New Scientist.
- ^ "CADA Home Page". Canine Accelerant Detection Association (CADA). Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ Anderson, Jessica (10 July 2008). "Prisons enlist dogs to keep out phones: Canines part of effort to keep contraband out of state facilities". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ Dietsch, Deborah K. (26 August 2004). "You Can Teach a Mold Dog New Tricks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
- ^ ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ "Your Dog's Ability To Track Scents". Whole Dog Journal. 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2005.
- ^ "Using Canines to Detect Spotted Knapweed: Field Surveys & Characterization of Plant Volatiles". Goodwin, Kim Marie. 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ISBN 9781426201752.
- ^ "NPMA Bed Bugs Best Management Practices website home page". National Pest Management Association. 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- ^ Potter, Michael F; Romero, Alvero; Haynes, Kenneth F. "BATTLING BED BUGS IN THE USA" (PDF). International Conference on Urban Pests. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- .
- ^ Wasser, S K; Risler, L; Wasser, L M (1986). "Use of techniques to extract steroid hormones from primate feces". Primate Report. 14: 194–195.
- PMID 1886098.
- doi:10.1139/z04-020.
- ISSN 1448-5494.
- PMID 22916175.
- ^ "New Mexico Shelter Dogs Come to the Rescue for Rare Salamanders". The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- ^ "Job of sniffing out COVID cases given to canine recruits". ABC News. 6 September 2021.
- S2CID 247291441
- ^ "Dogs Sniff Out Coronavirus With High Accuracy". Medscape. Reuters. 10 March 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Act 2001 No 115". New South Wales. 14 December 2001. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-921131-36-3.
- PMID 19930020.
- ^ a b Hinkel, Dan; Mahr, Joe (6 January 2011). "Tribune analysis: Drug-sniffing dogs in traffic stops often wrong". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- S2CID 224939766.
- ^ Saville, Sebastian (9 July 2008). "Sniffer dog checks bite into our civil liberties". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Marks, Amber (31 March 2008). "Smells suspicious". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Race, K (2009). Pleasure Consuming Medicine: The queer politics of drugs. Durham: Duke University Press.[page needed]
- ^ Vogel, Ed (26 June 2012). "Officers file suit alleging wrongdoing in police dog training program". Las Vegas Review Journal. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ a b Svarstad, Jørgen (19 November 2011). "Over 1000 osloelever narkosjekket" [Over 1000 Oslo students drug checked]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ "Real spies, not Bond, take spotlight at new International Spy Museum (2019)". The Spokesman-Review. 8 May 2019. pp. a4. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
Further reading
- NPR's All Things Considered: Using Dogs to Sniff Out Bed Bugs
- Fox Philadelphia: "Bed Bug Dog and Bed Bug Control Experts discussing use of Bed Bug Dogs"
- Braverman, Irus. 2013. "Passing the Sniff Test: Police Dogs as Surveillance Technology." Buffalo Law Review 61 (81): 81–167.
- Blum, Binyamin. 2017. "The Hounds of Empire: Forensic Dog Tracking in Britain and Its Colonies, 1888-1953." Law and History Review 35: 621–65.
External links
Media related to Detection dogs at Wikimedia Commons