Animals at the heart of modern force

THE PSNI’S dog team includes general purpose dogs, passive scenters, specialist scenters and victim recovery specialists.

General purpose police dogs

Multi-disciplined and trained to work under a variety of conditions. Their skills include searching for missing persons, tracking suspects from crime scenes and recovery of recently discarded articles of an evidential nature.

They also protect their handler and other officers in dangerous situations and even their presence can be enough to discourage unwanted behaviour.

Passive scanning drugs dogs

They may look like they’re out for walkies but they’re always on a mission.

They are trained to sniff the air surrounding an individual person in a non-discriminatory manner and can detect illegal substances such as cannabis and amphetamines.

They are often seen policing in large crowds and at outdoor events.

Specialist search dogs

They are trained to find specific scents. They are capable of searching and locating illegal drugs, firearms, cash and various types of explosive substances.

Their searching ability is economical and effective covering larger and inaccessible areas faster than their humans possibly could.

They tend to be Labradors, springer and cocker spaniels.

Victim recovery dogs

These dogs are trained to search for and detect human remains.

They can be used to detect victims of drowning, whether they are a victim of crime, accidental or otherwise.

They are also trained to search crime scenes for particles of blood or articles with blood on them.