New Law Enforcement Trend: Gun Sniffing Dogs
Dec 02, 2019

By Friedrich Seiltgen

The newest trend in law enforcement is gun sniffing dogs. While some of the first reports of these new tools started as early as 2011, the use of gun sniffing K-9s has increased in the last two years.

The latest agency to add gun sniffing K-9s to their crime fighting arsenal is the Connecticut State Police. In an October press release, the agency announced that four K-9 teams recently graduated from Connecticut’s very first firearm detection class. In a new training program developed by the agency, the dogs trained for six weeks to detect and alert their handlers to the presence of firearms and spent shell casings. Two of the K-9s are with the state police, with one going to Hartford and one to Meriden.

Gun sniffing dogs are trained to smell ammo and gunpowder and its residue. Dogs can be trained to find guns, just as they are trained to find bombs or drugs. They are given a certain scent and trained to find that scent only.

There are K-9s for detecting almost everything. There are K-9s trained to detect changes in a diabetic’s blood sugar level who will wake up their masters before they go into diabetic shock. There are bomb dogs, drug dogs, cadaver dogs, cash dogs, electronics dogs, and even meat dogs – yes, meat dogs! The USDA has their “Beagle Brigade.” These little guys and gals are used in the F.I.S. (Federal Inspection Station) at your international airport. They sniff out meat and fruit in passengers’ baggage on arriving international flights, as these items are not allowed into the U.S. I have seen these dogs in action. Believe me, they find some interesting stuff, but don’t get me started…

Gun sniffing dogs can be very useful. For example, when a suspect flees the scene of a gun crime, many times they will pitch the gun to avoid extra charges if caught. If a dog can locate the weapon quickly, there will be evidence tying the criminal to the gun possession. This was already the case with the newly trained K-9s in Connecticut. K9 “Mika” found a gun a suspect threw away during a chase.

In South Florida, the Florida Atlantic University Police Department in Boca Raton added a gun sniffing dog this year. With shootings at schools and the awful massacre at Virginia Tech, the university decided a gun sniffing dog would be a wise addition to its department. K-9 “Zero” is on the job searching for guns on campus.

In June of this year, Andrew Pollack, who lost his daughter in the Parkland shooting, donated a gun sniffing dog to the Bradford County Florida Sheriff’s Office. Pollack said he chose Bradford County because it has been active in strategies to protect their schools.

While the K-9s will most certainly be useful in fighting gun crime, I just know their talents will be abused by ugh, politicians! I fear anti-Constitutional states will be using these K-9s to confiscate guns possessed by law-abiding citizens who simply want to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

https://www.gunpowdermagazine....d-gun-sniffing-dogs/

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While the K-9s will most certainly be useful in fighting gun crime, I just know their talents will be abused by ugh, politicians! I fear anti-Constitutional states will be using these K-9s to confiscate guns possessed by law-abiding citizens who simply want to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

That's how you see them being used? Thereby comprising the most inefficient, least cost effective confiscation scheme ever devised. Someone put on a pot of coffee - Fido's gonna be pulling some overtime.

Great, more Ouija dogs.

Dogs that sniff explosives are already gun sniffing dogs. We had one until it passed a few years back that if it didn’t find one as part of its training searches, got failed. It always found it with no problems.

That said, I don’t believe the cops will be wandering the streets doing casual sniffs for firearms on random citizens. I see dogs being cross trained with drug sniffing skills for what they’re already being used for.

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Originally posted by Dan:

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While the K-9s will most certainly be useful in fighting gun crime, I just know their talents will be abused by ugh, politicians! I fear anti-Constitutional states will be using these K-9s to confiscate guns possessed by law-abiding citizens who simply want to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

That's how you The WRITER sees them being used? Thereby comprising the most inefficient, least cost-effective confiscation scheme ever devised. Someone put on a pot of coffee - Fido's gonna be pulling some overtime.

FIFY

Anybody else hate the made up term "gun crime?"

A few years back my son's plane was delayed. So, I spent about three hours sitting in DIA waiting. I was dressed in shorts and a tee shirt. I had no bag just a book. I was at this time considering applying for my concealed carry. A K9 brought his dog up to me as I was sitting a reading. I knew enough not to pet the dog. I looked at the handler and didn't say anything. He wandered off after about 30 seconds without saying a word. I've always wondered what would have happened if I had my permit and was carrying at the time.

You have no rights. Face it. But in some places where "stop and frisk" was outlawed, I can see it as a tool to accomplish the same thing. They wouldn't stop unarmed people, only those with firearms. Maybe.

Many of us who live in free states have kind of headed it off. Any adult can now carry without a license (2A freedom). I can see it being concentrated in the inner city where "gun crime" is rampant. Guess I shouldn't care, I don't go to those places.

I'm rapidly getting to the point where I don't like the direction LEOs are going these days. The idea of sniffing people just walking along kind of offends me.

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Originally posted by rburg:

...I can see it being concentrated in the inner city where "gun crime" is rampant...

Not gonna happen, the libs will scream RACISM and the Dems in charge will stop it. Yes, it is indeed bizarre that LEOs are severely limited in their fight against "gun crime" where most of it happens.

I’ve never known of any K9 handlers to have their dogs sniffing people just walking along. Outside of controlled areas, such as airports, I’ve only know handlers to use their dogs for a reasonable purpose.

Handlers have to document the work that their dogs do, such as when they are deployed, what they were sniffing for, and what-if anything-the dog alerted on.

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Originally posted by WCCPHD:
Anybody else hate the made up term "gun crime?"

Yes, and also it's brother "hate crime". Crime is crime, and there are laws to handle them already in place. How the criminal was thinking makes no difference to status of the victim (who may have no idea what the perp was thinking).

flashguy

NYPD also make use of these trained K-9’s at Train stations & other mass transit points into NYC. K-9 is used in conjunction with plain clothes officers. Guess Id have to carry in a zip loc bag now...