K9

Frequently people outside of law enforcement misunderstand how the dogs are actually used and deployed. This misunderstanding is reinforced by the media, movies, and fictional references, which mistakenly show the dog's aggression more than they depict how a modern Police K9 is truly used.

The Police Service Dog is often ill perceived as a vicious, snarling animal. Police Service Dogs are occasionally needed to apprehend criminals by biting, but it's true designed use is to locate suspects who are hiding. Biting is only a very small facet of what the dog can be used for in Police work. The vast majority of K9 deployments results in no one being bitten. As a "force" tool, the Police Service Dog is very unique in that the dog can be re-called and stopped unlike a swing of a baton, a spray of chemical agents or a bullet when fired by a gun which cannot be stopped while in motion.

The Police Service Dogs are used in a variety of situations

To search for hidden suspects
To apprehend fleeing suspect
To search for lost persons
To search for evidence
To protect the handler, other officers and citizens
To clear vehicles after a high risk felony stop
To conduct public demonstrations
To search for and detect the odor of narcotics
To be a visual deterrent for crime