Poor Supervision Leads To K9 Units Downsizing Or Folding

The past decade in law enforcement has seen a rash of  K9 units being downsized or cut from police departments nationwide.  While the standard responses as to why include less calls for service and the cost of K9 training, the main culprit seems to be poor supervision within the K9 units themselves.  While many K9 supervisors may bristle at this criticism it is generally an accurate one.  And often times the problems begin with those charged with selecting the aforementioned K9 supervisors.

In a perfect world a person would be given the job of K9 Supervisor who possesses the right mix of experience.  Sadly this is often not the case.  Too many times these positions go to to A) SWAT Sergeants who handle Field Training Officers and are soon to be Lieutenants and (B) Sergeants who don't want the hassle of supervising FTO's and their rookies and trainees and think the bomb dog beat will be an easier gig.  While the decision makers in police departments will tell you they strive to choose the best people for these positions, many times their selections raise legitimate concerns and questions.

For example, are the trainers and handlers they pick the best or merely the closest or cheapest ones available?  And if their se lections turn out to be mistakes will they be willing to admit those mistakes, much less correct them? It is vital that the officer chosen for the position is there for the right reasons, not merely career advancement.  Narcotics dogs can sense legitimacy in their trainers and handlers, and if a Supervisor has never even made a narc arrest and shows no leadership or motivational skills to the dogs in his/her charge, what motivation do these animals have to perform for the Supervisor in question?

As things digress and unqualified supervisors realize that they are in over their heads, we've seen cases whereby they actually make excuses not to use their dogs.  And not just any excuses but lame ones having to do with things as trivial as the weather or the time of day.  For dogs trained to perform under the toughest of conditions these excuses are an insult.

The end result is that as these improperly supervised K9 programs are used less and less they become candidates for the financial chopping block and a target for department bean counters looking to balance the books. Which leads us to where we are today, where once valued K9 units are finding their numbers dwindling.

This work by http://www.bombdogdetection.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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