When you think about the Police Dog Unit, the first thing that comes to mind is that the dogs are used to sniff out drugs.
While this is not wrong, there is much more to these dogs and their handlers than meets the eye.
According to Warrant Officer Ockert Vermeulen, the instructor and kennel master at the Police’s West Rand K9 unit, about 11 different dogs are trained in various disciplines at the different K9 units.
Many people know about patrol dogs, explosive- and narcotic-detection dogs. But, according to Ockert, not everyone knows about the specialised units that use dogs trained in a specific field, such as sniffing out money, products used to start a fire, rhino horn, ivory, abalone, blood and body fluids.
“We have two specialised-unit dogs at Roodepoort. The dogs, as well as heir handlers had to undergo specific training in each field,” said Ockert.
There are only two each of these specially trained dogs in the Gauteng area.
Constable Mothupi has been the handler of one of Gauteng’s protected-species dogs since 2010. His dog – Asra – has been trained to detect rhino horn, ivory, abalone and West Coast rock lobster. His tasks also include the control and enforcement of the law regarding cycads. According to Mothupi, they have had many successful operations over the years.
Sergeant Sechel is the first officer at the Roodepoort K9 unit trained to handle a biological body-fluid detection dog. His dog – Wimpy – is trained to assist at a crime scene in locating small amounts of blood or other body fluids that would be invisible to the human eye. Once this is found, a sample is taken and sent to the lab for processing in order to link a suspect to the crime scene via DNA. These dogs are mainly used in rape or attempted rape cases.
According to Ockert, the dogs are trained with samples of the objects they need to find. “The smells are imprinted in their brains, and they will never forget them. The Departments of Environmental Affairs and of Fisheries and Forestry supply us with samples. We also have permits to use these samples.
“The dogs and their handlers train on a regular basis to ensure they remain alert,” said Ockert.
Ockert said the dogs are like humans, each with its own personality, likes and dislikes. “The training consists of games, because dogs love games. We train them according to the ball-reward system – when they perform a successful search, they are rewarded by being allowed to play with their favourite toy,” said Ockert.
He urged members of the public to remember that when they are at a crime scene, they should not contaminate it by walking through it. “Dogs are there to assist us to perform our tasks, and if the crime scene is not protected, the dog cannot perform its task optimally,” he said.
See the video of the dogs at work here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWSQ6VpipvE&feature=youtu.be
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