Throughout the years policing has had it’s ups and downs between bomb threats and various shootings all the way to your average traffic stop that any citizen could see unless they were the one lucky enough being stopped.There are a lot of things that go hand in hand when it comes to policing; there is no gray area, just black and white. Therefore, you are either right or you are wrong. If you were to sit down and watch an episode of COPS on television from ten years ago, then watch an episode from this past year you would see a huge difference not only in how the officer presents him/herself but also in the way that they carry out their actions. This is because over the years, policing has advanced greatly to suite the new coming needs of the public and the public’s safety. In an interview I had with Andy Haarmann, a fellow police officer down in Florissant, Missouri, I asked about their K-9 unit and the affects it had on the department. In response to my question, “Through the years that you have been on the field, would you say that there has been a lot of change in procedure and the carrying out of police work? Why or why not?” Haarmann replied,


“Yes, we are always learning from incidents, and trying to do things better to make the job safer for our officers and more effective for our residents.”

Considering the fact that police officers tend to be resistant to change does not help in the matter when it comes to procedure change because it is just another thing to get adjusted to. Officers tend to get so adjusted to procedure that it is all that they know, so when the department changes it, it takes a while to get used to. During the interview I had with Haarmann I asked the following: “Considering the information that you have just given me, would you say that the tactics carried out have changed a whole lot for the K9 unit as well? Why or why not?”

And in response to my question, Andy Haarmann simply stated,

“Yes, tactics have changed. As the tactics of the police officers change, the K9’s and their handlers have to change with them since they work with the police officers.”

After asking Officer Haarmann about the effects that the K-9 unit had on the Florissant Police Department alone when it comes to training or replacing the dog, he stated,

“Time and money. It costs our department approximately $5,000 to purchase each dog, and additional money to put them through the two month training course. Additionally, the handler has to go through the training with the dog, so that police officer is unavailable for patrol for a few months.“

With this in mind, financially speaking anyways, it is very costly to just by a single dog alone without considering the cost of training and equipment for the canine. Now, if we look further into the finances of the matter, and after further research, I have concluded that the average cost for a single purpose canine to be put through a training course averages around $5,500. So, adding up the costs, it will cost over ten thousand dollars just for one single canine to both buy and train the dog alone, and that is not including health finances.

All in all, it takes a lot to handle and maintain these wondrous and talented creatures. Although it takes a lot, financially speaking alone, why would you spend all this money just for one dog? For many reasons actually; these dogs help out in all kinds of investigations, from searching for a lost person all the way to the drug task force. For tasks such as this, they obviously have to have specialized and unique training to be able to pull off stunts such as these. When I asked Haarmann about the K-9’s and the qualification for training he stated,

“First, they have to be able to follow basic commands. Then, they have to be able to track persons, “sniff out” things, and respond to attacks.”

Therefore, as you can see, departments put so much time and effort into each dog they gain as being part of the force. Canines are specially trained to handle certain situations according to their handlers discretion and search out certain objects such as, heroin, meth, and marijuana in a short time frame to make sure that their senses are of the utmost quality needed to get the job done fluently, quickly, and efficiently. Although, besides the other drugs listed, marijuana is among one of the very top drugs on the market that some states are reconsidering the legalization of. For instance, Washington has legalized the use of marijuana up to a certain size of one ounce of the drug for individuals who are over the age of twenty-one.

It’s because of this that training has become iffy for nearly all departments; “In Pierce County, however, prosecutor Mark Lindquist said that authorities are being cautious about the new law because judges might excise the dog sniff from their analysis of probable cause (Marijuana Legalization).” This statement made in an article by the Associated Press gives proof that the new law is not helping the police force do their job any more or any less better than before. Not only that, but also, who is to say that the training course for the canines won’t have to be constantly adjusted just to fit the random needs that the government let alone society proclaims they have or need. A medical marijuana advocate and attorney, Douglas Hiatt states,

“Last fall's legalization law "just made one ounce not a crime for adults. That means that any amount over an ounce is still illegal, growing marijuana is still illegal, selling marijuana is still illegal, passing a joint to somebody is still illegal (Marijuana Legalization),"

With this in mind, many dogs are going through the extinction training which basically just changes which substances that dogs are trained to be able to alert. For this, it takes around thirty days plus additional reinforcement each day in order to modify the dog’s behavior. Either way, the approach is cautious due to the conditioned behaviors that the dogs have had put upon them. Through positive reinforcement they are eligible to learn different tactics according to their handlers commands, therefore, perhaps if one unconditions the conditioned response, one can use positive reinforcement to condition a new response and a new behavior for that particular situation. So, regardless of the matter, the canine will still be able to respond to direct instructions and commands given to it by the handler.

In addition to these circumstances, throughout the years canines have also been known to bite an individual during a pursuit and an arrest. It is because of this that in 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice have encouraged and recommended that agencies adopt a “find and bark” policy that requires the canine to bark upon the finding of the subject rather than attack and bite them which may in fact, at that point, cause the department to get mixed up in liability issues as well as civil rights issues where that subject decides to press charges.

Some behavioral traits of canines can be ‘fixed’ so to speak, while others cannot be fixed so easily. “Avoidance behavior is one that cannot be “fixed” by training. Although the dog could be encouraged to fight an agitator in this situation, we would be activating his survival instinct, not his hunt drive. The dog would fight because he felt he had to. This would be unacceptable on the street, with the dog’s reaction to a real bad guy ranging from avoiding the bad guy when possible to engaging him inappropriately (Dog Psychology).” Because of this, it has come to the point where law enforcement have started to make sure that before they put a canine out on the streets and before they start shedding their fur in the back seat, that they are truly ready for the streets. Proper training specially suited for each individual dog; just because one technique worked for the last dog worked for the last dog or even the past six dogs does not mean that it will work for the next one. “When a dog “fails” or is weak in a particular area during training, in many cases the handlers and trainers will have a brainstorming session to determine how to train the dog to make him more successful in similar situations in the future (Dog Psychology).”

So, as one can see, it takes a lot in consideration when it comes to law enforcement.

The information one is needed to obtain and give out is of vital importance or else people are going to think you don’t know what you’re doing. The physical and mental aspects go hand in hand no matter what field of expertise one has. Every little possible aspect must be in consideration to properly carry out the task at hand, simply because any, even the smallest of details, if gone unnoticed can cause a huge consequence. This stands not only for your average law enforcement officer, but also the average K-9 as well. With this in mind, proper individual and specialized training suited for each particular dog is key to an efficient job and task well done.