Give Your
Canine the Advantage
**We know that the three major
things that can kill the odor of the illegal contraband that our
dogs are sniffing for are, time, ultraviolet light, and carbon
monoxide.
Routinely
we pull up to a traffic stop, or are called out for our dogs to
conduct a vehicle sniff. We usually pull up behind the
initiating officer’s squad, get our highly trained, and
creditable police canine out and without regard for wind
direction, and vehicle position we conduct a walk around the
vehicle.
When we do
this we sometimes are not giving our dogs the advantage. When
the wind is at our backs, we now have two vehicles (squad cars)
blowing carbon monoxide right in to our search area. Naturally
there will often be passing motorists, and that can’t always be
controlled. But we can control the position of our squads, to
give our dogs more of an advantage.
In the
colder months your wind direction can easily be determined by
looking at the exhaust of the initiating officers’ squad when
you first pull up to the scene.
There are
numerous volumes written on tactical positioning of your squad
while conducting a traffic stop. We don’t want to ask the
initiating officer to give up any tactical advantage, or go
against department policy while conducting a stop. So we learn
to work with what we are dealt. But it is not out of the
question once the occupants of the vehicle are removed and
secured, to ask the officer to back his squad up a little if
need be.
We also
have to keep in mind officer safety, and the safety of the
occupants once removed from their vehicle.
There is
much controversy as to the location to place multiple occupants
of a vehicle while conducting a vehicle sniff. Generally six
feet from the passenger door of the leading squad car would be
safe in case a passing motorist crashes into our scene. No two
traffic stops are the same, so it’s going to be a judgment call
for the officers.
If you
have trained your fellow officers, or they are trained in drug
interdiction stops, prior to you arriving in most cases they
will have the driver of the vehicle already removed, and
separated from the other occupants of the vehicle.
United
States
v Jamal Williams (419 F. 3d 1029 (2005) States an officer
effecting a lawful traffic stop may order the driver and
passenger out of the vehicle.
**Have the
initiating officers’ request that the driver do the following
prior to them exiting the vehicle...
1.
Shut off vehicle.
2.
Place the key
switch on AC.
3.
Place the
temperature switch to medium, or half way between hot/cold)
4.
Place the fan
switch on medium.
5.
Roll up the
windows.
This is
sure to get that odor circulating through the vehicle and
forcing it out the door seams, giving your canine a greater
advantage.
If the
driver doesn’t want to comply with this request, don’t force
it. They have the right to refuse. If the vehicle contains a
trained odor your certified, highly trained, and creditable
police canine will probably indicate anyway. But this procedure
does give the canine an advantage.
If you watch your
dog on a hot day after it takes a drink, it will more often than
not lick its nose. They do this to replace the moisture in
their nose. Your dog relies on the moisture in its nose for
optimum performance of its olfactory system to absorb odor
molecules. They will do what they can to keep it moist on its
own but sometimes, due to heat, being over worked and becoming
fatigued it can’t keep up. When your dog’s nose is dry its
scenting ability is cut to almost half of what it normally is.
Give your dog the advantage. Prior to conducting a sniff offer
him a drink of water. Often they will turn it down because they
are more interested, and excited about getting out of the
squad. You should however put some water on your hand and rub
it on his nose. This should be sufficient no longer than a
vehicle sniff takes.
APCA
Trainer
Douglas
Daugherty
dadaugherty@charter.net
**Johnson,
Master Trainer Mike. Lecture. Bedford Police Department Narcotic
Detection School, Bedford, IN. 2005.
