Are Drug Dogs Wrong More Than They Are Right?

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by viperk9 on 07 January 2011 - 15:01

Due to a study done by the Chicago Tribune this has been a bit of a hot topic in the Chicagoland area for the last few day.

Here is the original article that ran in the Chicago Tribune on 01/06/11...
www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-canine-officers-20110105,0,7119364.story

Here is a video that somewhat accompanies the article...
embed> (not sure if this link will work, if not I believe you get to it from the acticle above)

And here is a rebuttal interview/video that was on Fox News Good Day Chicago this morning...
www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/drug-sniffing-dogs-put-test-study-alex-rothacker-lake-county-20110107

by SportySchGuy on 07 January 2011 - 15:01

I have a friend who is a k9 handler and his dog has found drugs 100% of the times he has alerted while on the job.

by muttlover25 on 07 January 2011 - 15:01

I agree with the trainers comments most likely these dogs are hitting on past smell/presence of drugs. We train cadaver work with our dogs and even after its taken up they will still hit in that area. Its amazing what dogs are capable. We were always taught the dogs never wrong the handler is.

by Brandi on 07 January 2011 - 15:01

muttlover25,
"We were always taught the dogs never wrong the handler is"

EXACTLY!!!!
As a former K9 Handler, it was always me that read my dog wrong (in the beginning), it was not he that was indicating wrong. He knew what the heck he was doing.

by KellyJ on 07 January 2011 - 15:01

Im so glad that guy went on National TV to really clear things up. That first article was terrible. They are just trying to remove another tool from the police officers belt!

by Pirates Lair on 07 January 2011 - 17:01

Article- '"Leading a dog around a car too many times or spending too long examining a vehicle, for example, can cause a dog to give a signal for drugs where there are none, experts said".

The experts are right, poor handling skiils can result in your dog making a false alert. Convince your Detection dog something is in a box and they will alert to it.

As I was informed many times during my training "its either there or it isn't, don't over work your dog"

You will hear people say "You have to watch your dog" , and they are right. However a lot of Handlers have no idea how to "watch their dog". Sometimes the most passive indication or head snap is a signal.

I believe that whenever possible, it is best to let the dog work off leash to locate the source.

JMO

Kim

by Slamdunc on 07 January 2011 - 18:01

Not impressed with the original article at all. I run plenty of cars and get alerts, I search plenty of cars and do not find dope. My dog however, is never wrong. In 100% of the cars he has alerted and no narcotics have been found after a brief conversation the driver has always admitted to smoking or having dope in his car recently. Unlike people dogs don't lie. If I went by the averages according to that article, I'd be at about 30% accurate. You have to substantiate the alert. Dogs are trained to detect the "odor" of narcotics, which can linger for a significant time after the drugs are gone. I have never had an unsubstantiated alert or a false alert.

Jim

by Pirates Lair on 07 January 2011 - 18:01

Agreed Jim

Odor is the detectable evidence (scent) of molecular migration from solids and liquids into the atmoshere.

The "alert" exhibited by my former partner was always consistent with past alerts where narcotics, or the odor of narcotics has been present.

Having said that, I do believe that there are some Handlers who claim there was something there, when in fact they caused the dog to alert falsely.

Kim

by VonIsengard on 07 January 2011 - 18:01

Articles like this are the reason I stopped pursuing my journalism degree and decided to find a different career. It's painfully obvious the writer is using the dogs as a ploy to get people to read about racial profiling. If you look at the graphs, some of the alert-to-find statistics are based on single digits. Sensationalism at its finest, folks. Who cares it could damage the reputation of the one of the best tools our police departments have at their disposal? Everyone will buy a paper with a dog on the front page!

by Princess on 07 January 2011 - 18:01

I would ask is it not better to get a bad hit ,than no hit at all.

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