What is Headspace?

Headspace is Amber Marks's satirical account of her research into the policing of smell - she uses developments in smell research as an allegory for the surveillance society. Amber was working as a barrister when she started spotting sniffer dogs on her travels to courts in different parts of the country. Disturbed by the implications for civil liberties (who needs a warrant when you've got a dog) and cynical about the supposed infallibility of canine intelligence (barking up the wrong knee), Amber started researching the phenomenon. To her amazement she discovered that across the world, people are being convicted on the word of a dog alone - despite the science of smell (the fascinating history and advances of which are all included in this book) being very poorly understood. As a legal expert on canine evidence, Amber is invited to a Ministry of Defence conference where the security applications of mice, moths, salmon and plants are discussed. That's when Amber's research journey really begins.



Q & A with Amber:



Why did you call the book "Headspace"?

Quite a lot in the book is about the importance of pscyhological privacy to human liberty and autonomy. Headspace - in 1960s jargon- means psychological privacy, the cognitive shed required for the development of an individual personality. When an entomologist told me that 'headspace' is also the technical term for the area surrounding a subject in which their smell can be detected and analysed - I knew it had to be the title of my book.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I enjoyed everything about it. I enjoyed befriending security agents, police officers and scientists (they have all taken the fun I poke at their research in good humour). I enjoyed researching all the novels relating to the sense of smell (Perfume, Jitterbug Perfume, Brave New World, Oryx And Crake and millions of others) and learning about the science of smell. It was a great excuse to read Arthur Koestler's Ghost in the Machine and learn about bee brains and the manipulation of instinctive behaviour.



What is Dogwatch?

Dogwatch is the name of a secret organisation in Amber's book. It monitors potential threats to Headspace and seeks to inform people of their rights in these confusing times. It is presently focused on developments in surveillance, forensic science, less than lethal weapons, the militarisation of biology and the science of smell. Membership is easy- just send your findings to Amber and automatically become a member!

The future of family pets...

Sniffer dogs in teenage bedrooms
BBC News

Police drug dogs are trained to hunt the smell of drugs
Retired sniffer dogs that have spent years on police patrol are now working in the private sector in the US - sniffing out teenagers' bedrooms.
Parents can rent a dog and handler for $200 (£125) an hour from Sniff Dogs, a firm operating in New Jersey and Ohio.
The dogs are highly trained and can detect illegal drugs.
The company says the animals can smell marijuana from up to 15 feet away (5m) and residue on clothing from drugs smoked two days earlier.
The dogs sit when they detect the drugs but they leave the final inspection to the parents.
Discreet service
The company was founded by a mother of two sons, who was surprised to find her oldest son smoking marijuana.

I trust my kids, but you only can trust them so far. They're kids, young adults, they're going to make [a] mistake
Pat Winterstein, mother
Sniff Dogs claims to offer a "discreet service" that avoids the confrontation that comes from drugs tests because the search can be carried out without the knowledge of their children.
The company cites statistics showing half of American schoolchildren have tried marijuana and that most drug taking takes place when they get home from school.
Pat Winterstein from Washington, New Jersey decided to use the service to search the bedrooms of her three children.
"I trust my kids, but you only can trust them so far. They're kids, young adults, they're going to make (a) mistake," she told ABC news.
Critics claim that the service could be invasive and may break down family trust.

Pigeons arrested

Iran arrests pigeons 'spying' on nuclear site
Iranian security forces have arrested two suspected 'spy pigeons' near the Natanz nuclear facility.

Daily Telegraph
By Our Foreign Staff
Last Updated: 7:45PM BST 20 Oct 2008

Plotting a coo? There has been no indication of the pigeons' likely fate. Photo: PA
One of the pigeons was caught near a rose water production plant in the city of Kashan in Isfahan province, the Etemad Melli newspaper reported. It said that some metal rings and "invisible" strings were attached to the bird, suggesting that it might have been somehow communicating what it had seen with the equipment it was carrying.

"Early this month, a black pigeon was caught bearing a blue-coated metal ring, with invisible strings," a source told the newspaper.

The source gave no further description of the pigeons, nor what their fate might be.

Natanz is home to Iran's heavily-bunkered underground uranium enrichment plant, which is also not far from Kashan.

The activity at Iran's controversial uranium enrichment facility is the focus of Iran's five-year standoff with the West, which fears it aims to develop nuclear weapons. The Tehran government insists its programme is intended to generate power for civilian use only.

Last year, Iran issued a formal protest over the use of espionage by the United States to produce a key intelligence report on the country's controversial nuclear programme.

It is also highly suspicious of Israel, whose extensive intelligence activities are not known to include the use of pigeons.

Beware of Robots- They could be amongst us

Published on Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters (http://www.adbusters.org)
Cockroach Herding
Created 03/25/2008 - 16:04
The Reconquest of Cool [1]
76
Douglas Haddow [2]

Cockroach

A group of researchers at the Free University of Brussels have recently figured out how to influence the behavior of one of the world’s most resilient creatures: the cockroach. Combining elements of entomology and robotics, the group created an experiment that involved mingling light sensitive, cockroach-scented robots with the real deal.

Within a constructed social arena, the researchers set up two separate shaded areas, one area being darker than the other. Upon being released into the arena, the 16 organic roaches, which have a natural distaste for light, chose to socialize in the darker of the two spaces. The researchers then placed four of the robot roaches into the arena and allowed the two groups to mingle and become acquainted.

After the living roaches warmed up and befriended their artificial counterparts, the group then programmed the robots to graze in the area with more light. Although cockroaches are instinctively drawn to the darker of the two areas, they were unable to resist the impulse to imitate, and ultimately follow their cockroach-smelling robotic friends into the light.


Herding

A team of marketing specialists have recently figured out how to effectively influence the social patterns of Manhattan’s most trend-savvy demographic: the hipster. Utilizing elements of guerilla methodology in conjunction with a strong understanding of cultural capital, the team successfully interloped the Lower East Side’s vibrant nightlife and established an intimate venue where they could easily manipulate young consumers.

The team engineered a recurring, premeditated “non-event” in which they would hang out on a street bench located in front of New York’s most prominent American Apparel branch. Initially, they were able to attract the interest of passing youths because of their status as minor celebrities within the city’s taste-making elite, but over time “The Bench” (also known as the “anti-scene”) grew to become a hyper-local social phenomenon and quickly developed a reputation as a cool alternative to neighborhood bars and clubs.

Positive media publicity further popularized “The Bench” and soon enough the surrounding sidewalk was packed with thronging youths eager to hang out at New York’s newest and freshest night spot. Although youth are supposed to be resistant to social control, they were unable to resist the impulse to imitate, and ultimately follow their marketing-savvy friends into the light of American Apparel.


Source URL: http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/76/cockroach_herding.html
Links:
[1] http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/76
[2] http://www.adbusters.org/authors/douglas_haddow

Cloned Dogs- Evolution- and Korean Revolutionaries

Do the Koreans believe Lamarck's theory of evolution or do they think character and behaviour are genetically determined by other means?

Cloned sniffer dogs go on show
Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press, in Incheon
The Guardian, Friday April 25 2008
The Korean customs service has unveiled a group of seven cloned Labrador retrievers that are being trained to sniff out explosives and drugs at ports and airports.

The cloning was carried out by Seoul National University scientists, who in 2005 created the first known dog clone. The team is led by Lee Byeong-chun, a former aide to Hwang Woo-suk. Hwang's breakthroughs on stem cell research turned out to be false, but independent tests proved the dog cloning was genuine.

The dogs were born five to six months ago after being separately cloned from an experienced drug-sniffing dog. For now, they all share the name "Toppy" - a combination of "tomorrow" and "puppy."

"They have a superior nature. They are active and excel in accepting the training," said Kim Nak-seung, a trainer at a centre near Incheon airport, who was putting the dogs through their paces yesterday. In February all the dogs passed a behaviour test to see whether they are genetically qualified to work as sniffing dogs. Only 10%-15% of naturally born dogs pass the test.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008

Oh yes! The man in the lab coat can help me decide who to bed...phew!

From The Times
August 13, 2008
The Pill may put you off smell of your man and ruin your relationship
Mark Henderson, Science Editor
To millions of women it has been the great liberator over the past four decades, allowing them the freedom to control their fertility and their relationships. But the contraceptive Pill could also be responsible for skewing their hormones and attracting them to the “wrong” partner.

A study by British scientists suggests that taking the Pill can change a woman’s taste in men — to those who are genetically less compatible.

The research found that the Pill can alter the type of male scent that women find most attractive, which may in turn affect the kind of men they choose as partners. It suggests that the popular form of contraception — used by a quarter of British women aged between 16 and 50 — could have implications for fertility and relationship breakdowns.

The findings, from a team at the University of Liverpool, add to growing evidence that the hormones in the Pill influence the way that women assess male sexual attractiveness.

The Pill is thought to disrupt an instinctive mechanism that brings together people with complementary genes and immune systems. Such a couple, by passing on a wide-ranging set of immune system genes, increase their chances of having a healthy child that is not vulnerable to infection.

Couples with different genes are also less likely to experience fertility problems or miscarriages. Experts believe that women are naturally attracted to men with immune system genes different to their own because of their smell.

Commenting on the latest study, the researchers said that it could indicate that the Pill disrupts women’s ability to judge the genetic compatibility of men by means of their smell.

They said that this might not only impact on fertility and miscarriage risk, but could even contribute to the end of relationships as women who stop or start taking the Pill no longer find their boyfriend or husband so attractive.

Several previous studies have suggested that women tend to prefer the smell of men who are different from them in a cluster of genes called the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which governs the immune system. Some of these studies have also found that this effect is not seen among Pill users.

The latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, has now assessed the impact of Pill use in the same women, both before and after they began using oral contraception. A group of 97 women was tested, some of whom started taking the Pill during the course of the research. All had their MHC genes tested and were asked to sniff T-shirts worn in bed by men with different patterns of MHC genes.

Unlike some previous studies, the research did not find any preference for dissimilar MHC genes. However, when the women started taking the Pill their preferences shifted towards the scent of men with more similar genes to their own.

This suggests that Pill use has an effect on perceptions of scent attractiveness, even if there is no underlying female preference for similar or dissimilar MHC genes.

Craig Roberts, who led the study, said: “The results showed that the preferences of women who began using the Pill shifted towards men with genetically similar odours. Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems, but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the Pill, as odour perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners.”

The research also found differences between women in relationships, who tended to prefer odours of men with different MHC genes, and single women, who tended to prefer the smell of MHC-similar men.

This could potentially indicate that if women are tempted to have an affair, they are more likely to choose a man with very different genes, to maximise the diversity of any offspring that they might have.

The scientists said that more work was needed to explain the way various studies have obtained different results on whether women naturally prefer men with different or similar MHC genes. They also cautioned that the importance of scent in human mating preferences remains uncertain.

The research backs up an earlier study of how women’s perceptions of partners can alter when taking the Pill. Psychologists from St Andrews and Stirling universities found that women on the Pill tend to prefer macho types with strong jaw lines and prominent cheekbones.

However, women who are not taking that form of contraception seem to be more likely to go for more sensitive types of men without traditionally masculine features.

New literary reference

It was disheartening not to see 'Headspace' in the Guardian's list of the best books on smell, but fellow Welshman proved that the Guardian had clearly missed the most interesting smell references in literature any way so it's no big deal...


...

Ten of the best (June 21) could also have included the smells that dominate the opening pages of Raymond Queneau's Zazie in the Metro. While Proust's Marcel inhales "the lingering scent of invisible lilacs" in the countryside, Queneau's Gabriel voices his repulsion on inhaling unpleasant odours given off by the unwashed crowd at the Gare d'Austerlitz: "Howcanemstinksomuch?" He then dabs himself with a heavily scented mauve handkerchief, provoking a verbal exchange that nearly leads to violence with an outraged couple on the platform. Queneau exploits smells and smelling not as a stimulus to memory, but as a means of sniffing out other people's identity and personal habits, soon to be renewed with the arrival of Gabriel's teenage niece Zazie, who strongly approves of her uncle's choice of scent and then goes on to question him relentlessly about his sexual orientation.
Mark Stroud
Cardiff

Calming the nerves

News highlights

Lavender scent calms dental patients

15 Sep 2008, PR 187/08

A study by researchers at King’s College London has found that people exposed to lavender oil scent before having dental treatment were then less anxious about going to the dentist.

Metaxia Kritsidima, an MSc Dental Public Health graduate, working with Dr Koula Asimakopoulou Lecturer in Health Psychology, from the Dental Institute at King’s, presented their results at The British Psychological Society’s Division of Health Psychology and European Health Psychology Society Conference at the University of Bath last week.

British Psychological Society press release

Metaxia Kritsidima explained: ‘A substantial number of people avoid going to dental surgeries because they are ‘scared of the dentist’, which can have a significant impact on their dental health. The anxiety experienced by these patients once they get to the dentist is stressful not only for them, but also for the dental team.

‘Working under a state of increased tension may potentially compromise their performance, as well as lengthening appointment times. This is why finding a way of reducing dental anxiety is really important.’

In this study, researchers investigated the effects of lavender scent on dental anxiety. The dental anxiety levels of 340 adult patients were measured while they waited for a scheduled dental appointment. Some patients were exposed to a lavender scent while the rest were not.

Patients who were exposed to the scent reported feeling less anxious than the control group. This significant effect was present regardless of the type of dental appointment (e.g. routine check up, drilling). However, the exposure to lavender had no effect on the patients’ anxiety regarding future dental procedures.

Metaxia Kritsidima concludes: ‘Our findings suggest that lavender could certainly be used as an effective ‘on-the-spot’ anxiety reduction in dentists’ waiting rooms.’

Dr Koula Asimakopoulou, comments: ‘This is a significant difference and it was present regardless of the type of dental appointment.’

More than 700 psychologists from the UK, Europe and further met at the University of Bath from 9 - 12 September 2008 for the joint European Health Psychology Society and British Psychological Society’s Division of Health Psychology Conference 2008.

The conference, themed ‘Behaviour, Health and Healthcare: From Physiology to Policy’, will look at how psychology can be applied at individual and group level to promote health, and even prevent illness, at a national level.

Dog Witness to murder

Murder Trial Calls Dog As Witness
By Sky News SkyNews - Thursday, September 11 02:59 pm
A courtroom observing a French murder trial could be excused for thinking the presiding judge has gone barking mad.

(Advertisement)

In what is believed to be a world first, the investigating magistrate has invited a dog to take the stand as a witness.

Scooby will give evidence as he is believed to have been with his 59-year-old owner when she was found hanging from the ceiling of her Paris flat.

Police believe the death was suicide, but her family cry murder - and the only witness to see the alleged crime is on four legs.

It is hoped Scooby can collar the potential perpetrator, having already played a leading role during a preliminary court hearing in Nanteree, a Paris suburb.

He is said to have hounded a suspect, "barking furiously" after being taken out of the kennel and into the witness box by a vet.

French judge Thomas Cassuto praised the mongrel for his "exemplary behaviour and invaluable assistance".

But lawyers barked back - insisting the bizarre spectacle "proved nothing".

One said: "Human evidence is unreliable enough, let alone canine evidence.

"Besides, the victim died two and half years ago, which is seventeen dog years! How is the animal supposed to remember that far back?"

A spokesman for the Palais de Justice in Paris confirmed that the appearance was the first time a dog had appeared as a witness in criminal proceedings in France.

He said: "It was a preliminary hearing. The judge will now decide if there is enough evidence to go to trial."

Go Ahead to Clean your PNC Record

Ruling over crime records database
Press Assoc. - Tuesday, July 22 10:59 am
Police could be forced to remove thousands of criminal records from the national database after a landmark ruling on the holding of personal details.



The Information Tribunal on Monday dismissed appeals from five police forces which were ordered to delete old criminal convictions from the Police National Computer.

The tribunal ruled that keeping the records was in breach of the Data Protection Act, which says personal information should not be kept for longer than necessary.

Police fear the ruling could have "far-reaching implications" for the holding of data.

It could open the door to thousands of people convicted of minor offences when young to apply to have their criminal record removed. Under current policy, criminal records remain on the computer for up to 100 years.

One record held by Humberside Police related to the theft of a 99p packet of meat in 1984. The person involved, who was under 18 at the time, was fined £15.

Another record held by West Midlands Police referred to a theft which took place more than 25 years ago, for which the individual was fined £25. And a third record held by Staffordshire Police related to someone under 14 who was cautioned for a minor assault.

The other records were held by the police forces of Northumbria and Greater Manchester.

The tribunal upheld the ruling of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in November that the holding of the records did not comply with the Data Protection Act.

The Act says personal information must be relevant, up-to-date, and not excessive

War on Terror Dogs


"Good pictures and a bit of war dog history in the Sun '"


Thanks very much to latest dogwatch recruit!

"The whole point of dogs is to scare people rigid"

Don't set dogs on criminals with allergies, police told
Police dog handlers will have to consider whether criminals have allergies or a fear of dogs before conducting searches in what has been described as the latest example of "namby pamby" policing.

By Gordon Rayner in the Telegraph

Guidelines being drawn up by senior officers will tell dog handlers they should "avoid offending" people with phobias of animals when dogs are used in drug raids and other investigations.
The rules have been produced amid fears that suspects with medical conditions triggered by the presence of dogs, such as asthma, may file costly compensation claims against the police if they suffer an allergy or panic attack during a police raid.
Dog handlers have also been told to take "cultural sensitivities" into account, though reports that dogs would be required to wear specially-designed boots on their paws during searches of mosques and Muslim homes have been flatly denied.
The plans have been ridiculed in the respected force magazine Police Review, with one columnist citing it as the latest diktat from "the polite police".
The anonymous sergeant writes: "The traditional shout of 'stand still or I'll set the dog on you' will presumably have to become 'excuse me, my police dog is quite hairy and might cause alarm as he sinks his fangs into his right thigh. Is that all right with you?'
"The whole point of police dogs is to frighten people rigid, at least those who have just committed a crime and would otherwise make a clean getaway. They should have considered the mental trauma and possible allergic reaction caused by 60lbs of foaming Alsatian clamping its teeth to their extremities before embarking on their criminal escapade."
A serving dog handler, who asked not to be named, said: "I have never heard anything so ridiculous. What's next? Sparing people custody because they have a fear of enclosed spaces?
"This is just another example of namby pamby policing laid down by people who haven't been on the beat in years."
PC Mike Dermody, a former dog handler with Greater Manchester Police, was among those dismissing the need for guidelines, saying: "I have never encountered an incident where we have offended someone. If there is a person with an allergy, we will put them in one room while we search the rest of the house."
And PC David Heaps, a dog handling trainer at Derbyshire Constabulary, said dog handlers were already "mindful not to cause offence".
The controversy arose after Peter Vaughan, the Association of Chief Police Officers' adviser on dogs, said: "The draft guidelines outline a general principle that forces should consider what steps can be taken to avoid offending people during operations.
"This might include different categories of people such as those with a fear of dogs, for example or asthma sufferers who may be sensitive to dog hair."
Mr Vaughan, deputy chief constable of South Wales Police, insisted, however, that "in all operations effective policing will take primacy", meaning dog handlers would not have to take possible allergies into account when tackling violent criminals, for example.

Any comments from dogwatch?

Man gets prison for stabbing Redondo Beach police dog
He is sentenced to the maximum of five years and eight months. The German shepherd was injured after being sent in to subdue the man, who had threatened officers at his home.
By Amanda Covarrubias, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
5:30 PM PDT, July 18, 2008
A 40-year-old man convicted of stabbing a Redondo Beach police dog and making criminal threats against two of his ex-girlfriend's adult daughters was sentenced today to five years and eight months in prison.

Jimmie Divo Lunceford was given the maximum term by Torrance Superior Court Judge Sandra A. Thompson, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Lunceford was convicted March 18 of assault on a police animal, making criminal threats and trying to burglarize the home of one of his ex-girlfriend's daughters.

The assault charge involved a German shepherd named Valor. The dog, which was brought into court by its handler during the trial, was stabbed twice in the side of its neck last year and had to undergo an hourlong surgery.

When police were called to Lunceford's home in Redondo Beach on July 30, 2007, he yelled at them, saying he had a knife and wanted them to shoot him. The police dog was injured after he was sent to try to subdue Lunceford.

amanda.covarrubias @latimes.com

Sniffer Dogs and Biotechnology

Proof that Dogwatch was right to perceive links between sniffer dogs and the dangerous potential of a bio-technology revolution in surveillance:

South Korea's new high tech product: cloned dogs
By Jon Herskovitz Reuters - Thursday, July 17 08:59 am
SEOUL (Reuters) - Two South Korean labs are offering pet owners the chance to clone dogs, but for those looking to bring back a beloved beagle, be ready to wait in line and have plenty of cash on hand.

(Advertisement)

The Seoul-based labs -- one affiliated to RNL Bio Co and the other to Sooam Biotech Research Foundation -- are separated by about 30 km (20 miles) and bill themselves as the only places in the world where you can clone a cocker spaniel or retrieve a retriever, with costs running at about $50,000 (25,000 pounds) to $100,000.

But the labs are turning out far more copies of working dogs and endangered breeds than pets.

Customers such as South Korea's customs service have cloned a champion sniffer dog, seeing the option as a cost-effective way to produce candidates for expensive training programs.

The customs service estimates the cost at 60 million won (30,128 pounds) per clone. It costs about twice that to breed and train a normal sniffer dog, but only about 30 percent are good enough to make the grade, it said.

"This all came about from the question of how we could secure dogs with superior qualities at a low price," commissioner of the Korea Customs Service Hur Yong-suk said.

Near South Korea's main international airport, trainers have been putting seven Labrador retrievers cloned from a top drug sniffing dog named Chase through their paces.

The seven clones, all named Toppy for "tomorrow's puppy", were produced in October and November last year by RNL Bio and seem to have the right stuff for the job, their trainer said.

TOP DOG IN CLONING BATTLE

Both labs are staffed with researchers who worked with Hwang Woo-suk, once hailed as a national hero in South Korea for his work in human embryonic stem cells but who later fell from his perch when his research results were found to be fraudulent.

Hwang, who left Seoul National University in disgrace, went on to form Sooam in 2006, while the RNL Bio lab is largely staffed by researchers who stayed behind after Hwang left the prestigious university.

RNL says Hwang's team members, and not Hwang himself, developed the technology that resulted in the world's first cloned dog, an Afghan hound named Snuppy born in 2005 while Sooam says the technology belongs to Hwang.

"They can be our competitor or we can cooperate because our capacity is very small now. If we can make a partnership, we can make more dog clones for worldwide needs," said Ra Jeongchan, president and CEO of RNL Bio.

RNL, a biotech firm using dog cloning as a way to grow its international business, will soon produce its first cloned pet, copying a pit bull named Booger for a California grandmother who lost a few of her fingers and relied on the dog for help.

Ra said it costs as much to produce a single copy of a dog as it does to produce many clones.

Dogs are cloned using so-called somatic cell nuclear transfer, a technique for hollowing out the nucleus of a donor egg and injecting it with the donor's genetic material, which is typically skin tissue taken from the ear.

The canines are considered one of the more difficult mammals to clone because of their reproductive cycle that includes difficult-to-predict ovulations.

Sooam, which has brought Hwang back into the spotlight, made a splash when it said it produced the first clones of a pet dog, a mixed-breed called "Missy" that was the pet of the CEO of U.S. biotech firm BioArts International. Three clones were born in late 2007 and early 2008, it said.

U.S. biotech firm BioArts, which works with Sooam, is auctioning off five slots to people who want to clone their pets, with bids starting at $100,000.

RNL chief Ra said he expects to be able to clone about 100 dogs next year and for the price to drop as technology improves.

But Ra, the owner of a Maltese, has no plans to clone his own family pet. "It's too expensive," he said.

(Additional reporting by Kim Junghyun)

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Tuesday Television

there's a ITV1 program about police dogs called: Send in the Dogs on Tuesday at 8pm

A reader's praise for Headspace

"I love some of the quotes from the police 'we have intelligence that huge numbers of people who take drugs use the transport system' that's hilarious. I assumed this comment was directed at the London transport system which huge numbers of people use irrespective of drug habits and surely it only serves to suggest a significant number of society use drugs in some form or another? "

Thank you! Intelligence-led policing isn't as sophisticated as it sounds! Sometimes it's an excuse to widen police powers over the general public by hiding behind meaningless stats!

Complaints Received by Dogwatch Re use of Dogs in UK

We have just returned from an evening at X Racecourse. My son was walking alongside me chatting, a police officer with a dog past us, as he passed us the dog walked near to my son. My son has a dog of his own and out of habit he patted the dog on the head. The policeman held my son by the arm- cautioned him and led him away for searching in front of a packed stadium, followed by a plain clothes officer. My son was searched and no evidence of any drugs was found. The police explained the dogs are never wrong and my son must have handled a note that had been used to sniff drugs.

They refused to apologise for any of their actions with no regard for the stress and embarrassment caused.

What does a sniffer dog do to identify someone in possession of drugs? This dog didn’t appear to do anything. Personally I think it was the Police Officer that misread the situation!


....

Action on Rights for Children (ARCH) became aware of "the problem" of drug dogs in Leytonstone station when two young people associated with ARCH were subjected to humiliating and aggressively-conducted searches following indications from drug dogs.
One 16-year-old boy was taken outside in the cold and made to remove his jacket. The police officer told him "the dog is never wrong". When the police had finished searching him and confirmed there were no drugs on his person, they became less aggressive towards him, but said he must have the smell of cannabis on him from somewhere he had been. He explained he had been at a Department of Education and Skills meeting all day.
The man in the newsagent kiosk inside the station, who has witnessed several dog operations, told ARCH the dogs are often wrong. His friend is a chef and the dogs bark at his clothes every time he visits the kiosk. ARCH is now collecting complaints from young people with tales of unjustified police harassment.
The BTP spokesman said it's "impossible to tell" how often dogs are wrong in their indications. Apparently, they are so sensitive "they can even detect the scent on you if you have brushed past someone who is carrying drugs".
He said "an indication from a dog is not an indication that the person has done anything wrong. What it does is provide probable cause for a search".
Normally one would imply the other, but no longer, apparently.

ACPO Police Dog Training and Care Manual

Dogwatch has received numerous media requests for this document- which is increasingly difficult to find on the internet. Dogwatch has decided to post the most interesting paragraphs from the Manual:


Regarding the use of Passive Alert Narcotics Detection Dogs: -


It should be recognised that all officers engaged on a passive alert dog operation should be fully briefed as to the capabilities of a passive alert dog team and each officers individual responsibility to complete the appropriate documentation in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and the Codes of Practice.

All officers must be aware that the use of Passive Alert dogs does not constitute a search. The dog is deployed to scent the air surrounding an individual person and indicate the presence of the smell of category A and B narcotics in the close vicinity of an individual person giving a spontaneous indication on that person.

The indication of an individual person given by a Passive Alert dog provides grounds for a physical search. If the search is not undertaken solely on the indication given by the dog, but an attempt is made to support the dogs indication, i.e. by questions and answers the suspects comments may remove the reasonable grounds by which a search would have taken place.

The Passive Alert dog works in a completely non-discriminatory manner. Ensuring that the dog randomly scans people should support this. Therefore people may not be funnelled or individuals requested to change their direction in order to facilitate the dogs deployment as this may constitute a search.

Extensive training records, and records of operational deployments, should be maintained at Service level to support the evidential credibility of Passive Alert dogs. The Supervision of these records will rest with the Nominated Officer.


...





The training of dogs is not a problem which can be solved with a mathematical formula. The temperament and individual characteristics of each dog must be considered and the training technique varied accordingly. When a handler knows what to expect from the dog, and what the dog's reactions are likely to be, the handler has the advantage. Experience will enable an observant handler to anticipate a dog's next move and will help the handler to decide whether to force an issue or whether to modify the demands. Knowledge of dog behaviour does not come easily and can be acquired only by diligent application and study of all matters connected with dogs, but it is essential if a handler is to get the best from the dog. The following principles of training should be carefully studied.

1.1 Control

Control is the major factor in training dogs; self-control on the part of the handler as well as control over the dog. Self-control requires that handlers must, at all times, have complete control over themselves. A handler who loses their temper during the training period will also lose control of the dog. When this happens, the angry reprimands, shouting, jerking and repetitions which follow will do nothing except confuse the animal. The aim is to train the dog and not constantly reprimand it. An important point to bear in mind is that when a dog fails to obey a command, there is always the possibility that it has not learned properly. Right from the beginning of training, a dog should never be permitted to ignore a command or fail to carry it out completely. The dog must learn to associate a command with its performance of it, and must never be allowed to suspect that there is anything it can do but obey. Furthermore, the dog must learn that it will have to do what is commanded, however long it takes. Laxity on the handler's part, on one occasion only, may make such an impression on a dog that difficulty in maintaining the continuity and standard of training may easily ensue. All new exercises should be started when the dog is restrained and controlled, if the acquisition of bad habits is to be prevented. The handler must be patient until each exercise is brought to a successful conclusion. A dog can sense any change in the handler's attitude and, if it does this, it becomes more difficult to handle. Patience is a major requirement in training but, at the same time, it must be coupled with firmness. The moment it is certain a dog knows that should be done, instant obedience must be demanded and obtained. The result will be a prompt and accurate worker. Dog training takes much time and understanding. Training periods should be pleasant, so that both handler and dog will look forward to learning new tasks. Once this atmosphere is established, the dog will begin to enjoy training, and the dog that enjoys training is the one that is learning and learning well. It is easy to force a dog to be obedient, but it cannot be forced to enjoy it.

1.2 Association

The ultimate aim of police dog training is that a dog will react in the same way each time it hears a certain command or sees a visual sign from the handler. To obtain this degree of response from the dog, the handler must be consistent in commands and manner. The dog will not understand if there is day by day, a change in tone of command or a marked variation in attitude. From the day the dog is taken over, the same pattern of behaviour must always be followed. Consistency in command and action is of vital importance.

A dog rapidly learns to associate certain happenings with certain localities, sounds or people. If a particular criminal work exercise takes place too frequently in one location, the dog will anticipate what is required of it and control will suffer. It is for this reason that training must be carried out in a variety of localities and terrain, so that no particular area is allowed to become associated with any one exercise in the dog's mind.


1.3 Repetition

In the beginning of training, a dog is not aware of what is expected of it, nor how to associate words with the action required. As the mind of the adult dog has been compared with that of a child of 9 months, it is only natural that the dog will be uncertain of what it is to do. Before it can grasp the full meaning thoroughly and reliably, a command and its response will have to be repeated a number of times. Hence, repetition plays a big part in the correct training of a dog. It is essential that a dog is made to carry out the same command time after time until the required response is obtained without any delay. This repetition is far more important in training dogs than in the teaching of human beings. It is most important, however, that boredom is never allowed to creep in, either for dog or handler. After a few commands of 'sit' etc, it is far better to have a break or move on to another exercise. In teaching new exercises, the formula of Command, Action and Guidance is applied. This means that the dog is helped into the correct position when necessary but, as soon as it is expedient, the guidance must be withheld. In the early stages a dog should not be allowed to get into the wrong position, ie a wide or lazy 'sit', or 'down' instead of 'sit'. The dog must be corrected when it starts to do something wrong and should not be allowed to continue, but the exercise should be started over again. Care should be taken that the same mistake is not repeated. Play between exercises is just as necessary and important as training if a working happiness is to be obtained.

1.4 Commands

Commands must be given in such a way that they mean something to the dog. They must be given firmly and clearly, bearing in mind that the tone and sound of voice, not the volume, are the qualities that will influence the dog. In most cases, the more quietly the handler speaks the better, since the dog will pay more attention if spoken to in this way. Commands should not be repeated once the handler is satisfied that the dog knows their meaning, as this will lead to a bad association in the dog's mind. If a wrong command is given, no attempt should be made to correct it, as this will only tend to confuse the dog. Let the dog finish the first command, and then give him the command originally intended. Each time the dog executes the command correctly it should be rewarded with praise. It is at the discretion of the instructor as to the actual word of command for each particular exercise and be correctly applied.

1.5 Rewards

Whenever a dog successfully completes any action or command, however small, it must always be rewarded either physically, verbally or with food, or any combination thereof. This should be given even when the dog has had difficulty in doing the task but has accomplished it in the end. Praise can be given in various ways. Play at the end of each period of training has already been mentioned. This must be treated as of great importance and the praise for every small successful accomplishment must be given in such a manner as will suit the individual dog. The handler must find out what reward suits the dog and the amount to be given, and then apply it. After having been rewarded suitably, the dog will sense that it has done the right thing and will do it the more readily the next time it is given the same command. As has been stated, periods of training should end with a bout of play, but if the dog's performance in a particular exercise does not warrant praise it must be allowed to perform a short exercise it knows thoroughly, and does well, so that it will earn a reward legitimately. In this way, all training periods will finish on a happy note.

1.6 Correction

Dogs do not understand human standards or the principles of right from wrong. Rewards and correction are the means by which a dog can be taught what must be learned. If a dog does an exercise incorrectly, the exercise should never be allowed to go uncorrected. The handler should make the correction without losing their temper, help the dog to do the exercise correctly and then, when satisfactorily completed, give praise.

The simple admonishment of 'No', and the withholding of praise, will often be sufficient. If not, then correction may be more severe and effected by correct use of approved equipment and verbal commands (See Chapter 14). It must be understood that any correction must fit the particular dog, for all dogs are different, with varying temperaments and abilities. The correction should also relate to the incorrect behaviour and, equally important, that it must be well timed. A dog cannot associate correction with misbehaviour committed a long time before. It is vital therefore, that the correction must be administered immediately a dog misbehaves. The dog must never be corrected for slowness in learning or inability to understand. This will only spoil training and be counter productive.

Dog training is a continuous process, it doesn’t start and end on the training field, and physical contact between the dog and handler is a vital ingredient in the chemistry of producing a successful team. Physically praising a dog for correctly carrying out an exercise is just as important, even more perhaps, than other methods of reward. On the other hand, there may be occasions when another form of physical contact is warranted, such as encouraging the dog to sit or lie down. There may be times when the handler needs to attract the dog’s attention, and due to other distractions taking place in the immediate area, some form of physical contact may be necessary. This form of contact should be carried out as a means of reinforcing verbal commands, and as already stated, immediately the dog fails to carry out the command. The dog should always learn to feel secure in being close to it’s handler, and to regard the hands of it’s handler as symbols of praise and affection. Similarly, the training leash should never be used by the handler for striking a dog that misbehaves, for using it in this way will make the dog shy of the leash and lessen the effect of it when correctly and properly used.

All personnel involved in the training of police dogs are accountable in law, as stated in the Protection of Animals Act 1911, as amended (or equivalent Criminal Law or Statutory Law in Scotland) and no dog should ever be subjected to any cruelty during training, operational work or whilst in their care. The important criteria is that any chastisement must be reasonable and necessary, and in accordance with the law, making use only of approved equipment. (See Chapter 14 - Equipment).

BASIC SENSES OF POLICE 2.
DOGS
Dogs possess the same basic senses as man. Four are
made use of in the training of police dogs.

2.1 Sense of smell

A dog's keenness of smell far surpasses that of a human being. A dog's nose is ideally adapted for the detection of the faintest odours. It is kept moist by glandular secretions and is extremely sensitive to the slightest air currents. When these currents are felt, a dog will turn his nose into them and sniff in order to test for any smell. During breathing, ordinary smells pass unnoticed as the olfactory organs lie above the current of air drawn through the nose, but if sniffing takes place, either because some odour is slightly sensed or because an external suggestion makes smelling desirable, the nostrils are expanded and the air is drawn upwards, so that the organs of smell are brought into full play. Studies have shown that dogs can respond to odour traces of all known sorts and in dilutions far more extreme than can be detected by man. Furthermore, they can distinguish between many odours which seem identical to human beings.

The subject of scent is dealt with in more detail in Chapter 3.

2.2 Sense of hearing

A dog's sense of hearing is so acute that it can hear sounds of a pitch far beyond the limit of those which can be heard by the human ear. However, it is in locating the origin of a sound that a dog shows great superiority over man, and it is this quality which is of most value in his work as a police dog. In utilising a dog's sense of hearing in training, it will be found that the pitch or tone of the voice, as well as the actual words, will affect the dog's response to oral commands.

2.3 Sense of vision

A dog's sight, when looking at stationary persons or objects, is poor compared to that of a normal human being. Nevertheless, the slightest movement, even at a great distance, will attract the dogs attention. This fact is of immense value in police work, provided the handler understands that their own range of horizon is much greater than the dog's, since the latter is limited by virtue of its height from the ground. Whilst it was thought that a dog sees everything in black and white and was unable to distinguish colours, that standpoint is being challenged.




2.4 Sense of touch

There is a wide variation among dogs in their responsiveness to the sense of touch. Some dogs are very susceptible to praise or correction; others appear to be relatively insensitive to it.

3.
THE THEORY OF The Dog's Learning Process
LEARNING
How does a dog learn to carry out an action in response to a command given by a trainer? What are the factors that govern how quickly or accurately the dog learns to respond to such a command? Why are some dogs apparently difficult or impossible to train?

In order to understand the answer to these and other related questions, in an attempt to explain, from personal experiences, the way that we understand the way that a dog's mind works. The following information is taken from a serious study of police dog training and is not merely copies or extracts taken from reference books on animal behaviour and psychology.

Serious study into the learning behaviour of animals was pioneered by a Russian scientist called Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov carried out extensive research into our understanding of how animals learn. He found that by offering a dog some food (natural stimulus), an increase in the flow of gastric juices in the digestive tract was apparent (natural response). Further to this, he experimented by sounding a bell immediately prior to offering the dog food and observed that, after a number of repetitions, the sound of the bell alone (conditional stimulus) was enough to increase the production and flow of gastric juices (conditioned response).

Association is the basis of learning and in order for a dog (or other animal) to learn to carry out any action, the stimulus and the response must happen together. We associate thunder and lightning as one because they tend to happen closely together ie: the flash of the lightning followed by the roll of thunder. If the lightning flash followed ten days later by the clap of thunder, we may not guess that the two events are linked.

So for an association between two events to be linked, we must ensure that they happen together. In order to strengthen an association, we can use 'reinforcement'. This can be either positive (reward) or negative (correction).

Using the command 'sit' as an example, how does this fit together? We give the command 'sit' (conditioned stimulus) and immediately push the dog's rear onto the floor (conditioned response), and as soon as he is in the desired position we offer him praise (positive reinforcement). If the dog makes all the correct associations, in a short space of time the command 'sit' will make the dog respond by taking up the sit position in anticipation of the reward (praise).


3.1 Conditioned Stimulus

This is most commonly a particular word whose meaning is often descriptive of the action required by the dog eg: sit, down, come, etc. The word of command itself is unimportant as the dog has no recognition of meanings of individual words or sentences. Short words of command should be used whenever possible and they should all have an individual sound, in order to minimise the risk of the dog misinterpreting like sounding commands. A dog trained to associate the command 'No' with displeasure (negative reinforcement) may easily be confused if trained to carry out a send-away using the command 'go'. In this case a command of 'away' would be a better alternative as there is less risk of misunderstanding on the dog's part. The control of tone and pitch are essential when delivering commands, which is why one should not attempt to train the dog when in a bad mood. A person with a monotone voice would not generally be successful in training a dog to spoken commands. Compulsion commands trained by negative reinforcement (down, no, etc) are normally given in a low pitched tone, as the majority of dogs are reasonably submissive towards lower frequency noise. As an alternative to spoken commands, signals may be used. These are most commonly given by hand and can be just as successful as spoken commands, but have the disadvantage of having to be seen by the dog before they can be obeyed. It is not practical to train a dog to do 'a recall' to handler on a visual signal; if the dog is heading off in the opposite direction it will never know that it is being recalled, unless, of course, it looks round.

Although unnecessary, many handlers use a combination of commands and signals to transmit commands to their dogs. In training a dog to go into the down position the handler might use the command 'down' and simultaneously point to the ground. The only problem which may occur is in knowing which stimulus the dog is accepting - the command, the signal or a combination of both signal and command.

3.2 Conditioned Response

This varies from the simple act on the dog's part to a command of 'down' meaning, lie on the floor, to a more complex response which requires several different actions carried out in the correct order to a single command, such as 'seek' - meaning to go and use your nose to locate an article bearing a particular scent and indicate it's presence.

3.3 Association

This really is the 'key' to learning and the success of any dog training programme depends on the dog making all of the correct associations required in order to learn and carry out instructions from its handler.

As we have already seen, the timing between the command and the response required, is crucial if the dog is to make the correct associations in order to learn to carry out a command.

Using the "sit" command as an example, we will now examine all of the possible associations that the dog may have during the learning phase. The handler commences by walking the dog, in the park, on the lead, on their left hand side. At intervals the handler will stop and give the command "sit" and at the same time push the dog's croup (hindquarters) to the floor and reward it with praise. After many repetitions the 'dog' starts to respond to the command "sit" and no longer requires a hand on its croup to get it into the sit position.

A week of training goes by and sure enough the 'dog' will now sit every time it hears the command, and so we can pat ourselves on the back in the knowledge that the 'dog' understands the command "sit". Or does it? If we now let the 'dog' off the lead to run and exercise and when it is twenty yards away give the command "sit", the handler will find to their surprise that the 'dog' may not respond.

At home when the 'dog' is lying in front of the fire and we give the command 'sit' we find that it makes no attempt to get up into the sit position. On a visit to the local vet when we walk into the waiting room, sit on a chair, and give the command "sit", the dog again responds as though it does not understand what is required. A lot of people would say that the dog knows what is required but is being defiant, this is not the case. The dog really does not associate the command "sit" with the action of putting his rear on the floor. The association that the 'dog' has with the command is that whilst walking in the park at a particular spot on the handler's left side, on the lead, when the handler stops and gives a command "sit", the 'dog' is to put his rear on the ground. In the absence of any of the above associations the dog might well fail to understand the command. For example, walking the dog in a different park on the handler's right hand side or off the lead or giving the command "sit" whilst continuing to walk forward, the handler would probably find that the dog would not respond because the associations that he has with the command are limited to where the initial training took place.

So, in order to train the dog to understand the command of "sit" we must ensure that our training is structured to give the dog the experience to react to the command alone without regard to the environment and circumstances surrounding it. In other words, the command "sit" must be the primary association with the action required and we must work to eliminate, as far as possible, all of the secondary associations.

Some trainers may indeed think that they have trained their dogs to obey various commands but have, in fact, conditioned their dogs to a number of secondary associations. Heel free, for example, may require a check chain on the dog (not attached to a lead), which is jerked momentarily before walking forward, the handler may hold their left hand on their hip for the dog to be able to associate the fact that this is competitive heelwork - the command of "heel" being only of secondary importance. If the handler removes the chain or swings their left arm, even giving the command of "heel", the dog may not respond as effectively as when all the associations are correct. To emphasise the point, take a dog trained to respond to the commands "sit", "stand" and "down", either walking to heel or a short distance away from and facing the handler (distance control). Most people would believe that dogs trained to carry out these exercises for competition really do understand the commands. Most dogs, however, have picked up a string of secondary associations along the way. So in distance control for example, the handler, 1) positions the dog at a pre-determined point, real or imaginary and, 2) sets the dog up for the exercise by placing it in one of the three positions, 3) walks away from the dog a number of paces and then, 4) about turns and faces the dog and assumes a certain position with the body. We have already a set of 4 associations built into this exercise before the first command is given to tell the dog which position to adopt. Suppose the dog is left in the "sit" position and is waiting for the command telling it which new position to adopt, there are only two possibilities, stand or down - even a dog that does not fully understand the commands must get it right half of the time. It does not take much imagination to understand that once the dog is given all of the prior associations of the exercise by its handler then anybody, who the dog has never seen in its life before could come forward and command the dog to "sit", "stand" and "down" and the dog will respond. Let the same dog run in a field and then let the same person give the same commands and not surprisingly the handler may not get any reaction from the dog.

How about the retrieve? Does the dog really understand the command "fetch"? Think carefully about this one. The dog is put into the sit position, given a command to remain there, the article is thrown and the command "fetch" is given. Ninety-nine percent of trained dogs would still retrieve if the handler substituted the word "carrot" for fetch. All of the prior associations set the dog up for the act of retrieving; the article being thrown is usually the primary association.

It is also important that whichever commands are to be trained, the dog should be trained to obey them the first time it hears each of them. If we have a dog on a lead and tell it to "sit" four times before its rear touches the ground, we haven't taught it to sit on the fourth command, we had taught it to disobey the first three! If we need to shout commands to get a dog to respond when the dog is alongside us then what chance do we have of getting a dog to obey us when it is two hundred yards away.
Let us look at one of the commands in greater detail and the right and wrong way of using the voice. An area of difficulty many people experience is teaching the dog to hold something in its mouth. The dog is placed in the sit position and its mouth opened by pressing in its lips, just behind the canine teeth. As a retrieve article is placed in its mouth the command 'hold' is given in a soothing voice. After a few seconds the dog spits out the article and so the process is repeated. A few seconds later the article is again spat out and this time it is placed in the dog's mouth with a sharp command 'hold'. Out it comes again and it is put back in with a growled command of "HOLD IT". By now the dog has been subject to three completely different sounds made by its handler, all of which it is supposed to interpret as meaning the same thing, only by this time so much confusion and panic has set in that the dog is not receptive to learning at all. Now we have reached one of the fundamental theories of control - first control yourself.

It is much easier for the dog to understand what is required if the command is always given in the same tone. If it makes a mistake and for example drops the article then we use the command of negative reinforcement, simply "NO" given with the appropriate tone of voice. The verbal rebuke should be instant and SHORT followed immediately by the reinforcement of training progresses, so the dog's trust in his handler increases and so the bond strengthens. As both handler and dog progress, each new task that the dog is being taught becomes quicker and easier. Even the most complex exercise can be mastered as this confidence increases. When we talk about creativity in association with dogs, what we really mean is training the dog to become less inhibited by constraints of the more complex exercise and encourage the dog to be fairly flexible in its interpretation of a command or situation. We do not credit the dog with the ability to think out a situation in order to reach a conclusion. Also, with positive training, we are encouraging the dog to work towards a purposeful outcome and thereby increase the dog's drive or motivation to carry out a command. Some other points to consider regarding positive reinforcement training are:-

3.3.1 it is generally slower to teach than negative methods;

3.3.2 in certain exercises we might think that creativity is the opposite of what we want the dog to do;

3.3.3 it depends on the handler's ability to 'understand' their dog;

3.3.4 it requires a tremendous self control from the handler;

3.3.5 the reward needs to be available during all training sessions….
3.3.6
3.3.7
3.3.8 As training progresses the dog will learn to associate certain happenings with certain localities, sounds or people, and react accordingly. Whilst this type of association must be avoided at all costs in criminal work training, it is, conversely, the basis upon which rests the eventual standard of the obedience training. In this training the dog is expected to react in a set manner each time it hears or sees a specific command. To obtain this behaviour in a dog the commands, temperament and actions of the handler must always remain the same. Variations will only puzzle the dog and make training more difficult.



… The human has to make a conscious effort and sniff hard to savour an odour and get the air to pass over the Olfactory membrane. With the dog, each breath channels the air over the Olfactory Membrane, and the various odours in the air it breathes, register with every breath.

To a dog, following a line of scent which it wants to follow is as natural as eating, and it really needs no teaching, but you must induce it to follow a trail which although not necessarily of interest to it is of the utmost importance to you.



Sex:

The biological differences between men and women make the odour of them different.

Personal Scent:

Personal odours can be identified to individuals dependant on their dietary and health regimes.
Different parts of the body each have their own odour armpits, feet, hands and so on.



Footwear:

The material from which the footwear is made; leather, rubber, canvas, suede etc: all smell different. This in addition to polish, cream, and other cleaners.-clcld have traced back to houde someone with same material shoes

Except for rubber all footwear is porous so the odour from the feet mingles with the smell of the footwear.

Clothing:

The different materials have individual smells, cotton, silk, wool, rayon etc: combining with washing agents. Whilst walking or running your clothing, rubs against itself causing particles to fall.

Occupation:

The occupational scent can be very distinctive:

Mechanic - Oil
Carpenter - Wood - Resin
Butcher - Meat - Offal
Baker - Bread - Flour

All clothing worn and footwear would be impregnated with the peculiar smells from his or her profession.

If all the individual, sex, personal scents, footwear, clothing and occupational scents are put together, the make up is very individual.

1.5 Factors Affecting Scent

Time, Coupled with exposure:

For moisture to evaporate, it must be exposed. If a bottle was filled with brandy and was corked, it would smell of brandy when re-opened, no matter how long it was left corked. If a little was spilled on the ground the smell would last only a few hours.

Time by itself does not destroy scent. Time coupled with exposure, which causes evaporation, does.

Sunlight or Heat:

Sunlight causes heat, heat causes evaporation.


The strength of the heat from the sun varies, the variations will alter its effect on the scent.

The higher the heat the greater the evaporation, therefore scent retention is minimal.

It is therefore important to consider what time of day tracking is taught.

Change of Temperature:

The rising of temperature dissipates scent, as the temperature rises so the scent rises it permeates with the air and then fades.

We do not need to see the sun for the temperature to rise.

WIND:

Wind can be against us or assist us.

For the stronger the wind the quicker it disperses the rising ground scent. On the other hand wind will assist us in searching large areas for persons or property.

RAIN:

We have previously stated that there is no scent without moisture. However, heavy or prolonged rainfall after a track has been laid, will reduce the chance of a dog following it.

A light shower falling before the track is laid will greatly assist the dog to follow the trail of scent.

1.6 Changes of Terrain

Lush Vegetation:

This may help the dog in tracking because of its luxuriance there is more vegetation disturbed and damaged by a person walking or running.


Sparse Vegetation:

As you would expect, the scent retention on sparse vegetation compares unfavourably with that of lush vegetation. There is less shade so the sun can reach the moisture more easily. There is less vegetation to be disturbed by walking.

Forest:

Forestry may afford good tracking. The ground retains moisture very well and the ground is shaded from the sun. The trees also break down the wind so the scent lasts well.

Rock, Tarmac and Concrete:

These surfaces make tracking difficult, scent may last for only a short time. There is very little moisture and very little ground disturbance when walked on. Heat from the sun evaporates any moisture quickly and the wind disperses the rising scent.

Generally speaking conditions are most favourable:

i) in mild, dull weather

ii) when the temperature of the ground is higher than the air, ie; normally at night time

iii) in areas where the ground is sheltered

Factors which aversely affect scent are:

i) hot sunshine

ii) strong winds

iii) heavy rainfall after the scent has been laid

Frost and snow may have the effect either of preserving of destroying a scent, depending on whether this occurs before or after the scent has been laid.

Pedestrian or vehicular traffic may disperse a scent.

No more War Dogs!

In Australia, massive campaigns against sniffer dogs have been instigated with huge success. Civil liberty organisations have organised sms systems to alert members to the presence of police dogs in the area by text message. We have a right to know where they are!

In Australia public outrage against sniffer dogs has resulted in the Parliamentary Ombudsman conducting a review of their use. The Ombudsman conducted a study into the accuracy of the police dogs and found 73 % of the people pointed out by the dogs had no drugs on them.

The same study showed that 60 % of those searched and who had no drugs on them admitted to the police that they had had some contact with cannabis, or had been to a place where it had been smoked. If they search you and find no drugs - don’t make any admissions! In doing so you bolster the credibility of the dogs’ powers, and add information to police files on you.

ACPO Respond on Important Issue of Dog Shoes

Ref:80/08 July 7, 2008
ACPO statement on use of police dogs

Peter Vaughan, Deputy Chief Constable of South Wales police and ACPO lead on police dogs said:

“Contrary to media reports, ACPO guidelines currently being drawn up on the use of police dogs do not require or request police forces to use boots when police dogs are being used within Muslim buildings. There is in fact neither any reference to the use of boots in the draft guidelines, nor to any specific faith or community.

“Instead, the draft guidelines outline a general principle that police forces should consider what steps can be taken to avoid offending people during operations. This might include different categories of people such as those with a fear of dogs, for example, or asthma sufferers who may be sensitive to dog hair.

“However while the police will take cultural sensitivities into account, in all operations effective policing will take primacy.

“The guidelines are expected to be completed by the end of the year.”

ENDS
Notes for Editors

• The ACPO Press Office can be contacted via 020 7084 8946/47/48 (office hours) or via 07803 903686 (out of office hours).

• The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is an independent, professionally led strategic body. In the public interest and, in equal and active partnership with Government and the Association of Police Authorities, ACPO leads and co-ordinates the direction and development of the police service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In times of national need ACPO, on behalf of all chief officers, coordinates the strategic policing response.

British Transport Police Declare War on Dogwatch

Time Out ran a feature (June 12-19) on Dogwatch's views. Today Time Out published the following letter from Detective Chief Inspector Simon Taylor of British Transport Police:

Police Line: Do not cross
We were disappointed with the emphasis of your article -'Four legs good, two legs bad' (TO 1973) - as it implied that police were breaching privacy and acting unlawfully by deploying drug detection dogs in a public place [this is what Dogwatch thinks]. It is in everyone's interest that people dealing in and using illegal drugs are stopped [and so there is no need for the police to act within the limits put on us by the law]. The drugs economy is socially and economically destructive [because of prohibition] and often leads to more serious crimes [which we find more difficult to solve]. Our deployments are undertaken by trained dog handlers in full uniform [they look very impressive] as part of overt [in your face] patrols on platforms, concourses and on trains. If you are indicated by a dog, it does not mean that you will be arrested. It does, however, mean that you will be further questioned [and searched]. If you are not involved with drugs, then you will be thanked for your co-operation and allowed to go on your way. People involved with drugs who come on the the transport system can expect to be stopped [and other people because our dogs aren't that reliable] and we make no apology for that.

Police and Government Speak Openly about using psychological harassment to control our behaviour


"You won't control them we will"


Dogwatch members have written in to ask"can citizens harass war criminals like this?
And what about corporations engaging in anti-social behaviour? " Dogwatch suspects that it depends how much time and money the victim of harassment has to challenge this behaviour.

Blackmail pond

Audio Database

Are we next?


Custom cloned

G2

Smells Suspicious

UK Lock Down

Crooks Escaping on Budget Airlines

Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe states: "I don't think it's acceptable that someone can just travel to another country within Europe and until we get evidence to charge they are safe." Ouch! What happened to the presumption of innocence? The Chief Constable told the BBC that the police need to be as 'flexible' as crooks. How would this work within the rule of law? What distinction between police and crooks would we be left with? One lot is outside of the law by definition and one lot supposedly inside ... so how can they be equally flexible?