Paws for protection: Mumbai's police dogs ensure security amidst bomb threats and festivals

A sniffer dog from Mumbai Police's Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad (BDDS) recently played an important role in locating a child who had gone missing. The six-year-old child had gone missing from Ashok Nagar area of Andheri.

The child had gone out to play with friends but did not return home. His family approached the Powai Police in Mumbai for assistance. To enhance the search operation, the police brought in a canine squad and using scent from the child's T-shirt, Leo, a search dog and following the canine, the police reached the Ambedkar Garden and found the minor.

Leo, a Mumbai Police's six-and-a-half-year-old canine sleuth, earned recognition from top cops in the city for helping the Powai Police locate the missing child within an hour and a half. Leo, a Doberman of a German breed, has been crucial in solving police cases ranging from murder, kidnapping, missing persons and housebreaking.

The Mumbai Police have embarked on a transformative journey to enhance the capabilities of their four-legged officers through a specialised canine training. The initiation of this training involves a carefully structured process designed to harness the unique skills of the canine companions effectively.

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The training commences with a meticulous selection process to identify dogs exhibiting the desired traits for police work. Essential characteristics include intelligence, agility and an aptitude for scent detection. Once selected, the dogs are posted in different departments of the police.

A senior Mumbai Police official said, "The dogs play an important role in helping to detect crimes, identifying bomb hoax calls and also keep in place a foul proof security during major festivals in the city or a visit of VIP."

He said different breeds of dogs are brought into the force at a very young age. They later undergo training programmes at various dog training academies. Once ready, the dogs are posted to their respective departments."

Leo's notable achievements also include assisting the RA Marg police in identifying a murder suspect from a lineup of 10 individuals and tracking down housebreaking accused who had fled with Rs 17 lakh cash from a house in south Mumbai.

Leo had also helped in a murder case at Worli police station and a missing person case in south Mumbai. So far, six of the cases he has helped Mumbai police with have seen positive results.

Mumbai police's dog squad, currently comprising five tracking dogs, including a narcotics tracking dog, has been instrumental in solving cases of missing persons, kidnappings, murders, and housebreaking.

However, the trained dogs, once posted in the department, are given tasks to perform. These dogs attend the duty calls whenever needed.

A dog trainer of Mumbai Police, who requested anonymity said, "The departments get duty calls at any given hour, the dogs are trained in such a way that they are active in participating in the call. However, an important factor is the handler of the dog, the handler needs to also be equally active for positive outcomes."

He added, "There are different breeds of dogs for different departments, the police generally have labradors, Doberman of German breed, German and Belgian Shepherds in the departments. These are brought in for training at a young age so they can be disciplined in the work just like the officers. At first, they are trained for discipline and later to detect crimes, sniff narcotics or explosives and also trained for duties during festivals where huge crowds gather."

Experienced canine trainers, well-versed in the nuances of police work, take charge of the training. The initial sessions focus on basic obedience commands, fostering a strong bond between the handler and laying the groundwork for a successful partnership in the field.

He further said, "In the case of Leo, it was trained at a central security agency centre and it is an excellent dog in terms of detecting crimes. Leo's obedience, energy, and activeness in performing the duty or a task is excellent, the results were proven when it was brought to locate a missing child in Powai.

Explaining a dog's tenure in the department, he said, "As the dogs acclimate to the training environment, the curriculum advances to more specialised skills. Scent detection, a critical aspect of police work, is honed through exercises involving various scents and scenarios. These exercises simulate real-life situations, preparing the dogs to identify illicit substances, locate missing persons, or detect potential threats. A particular trained dog has served a department for around 10 years. After retirement, the dog gets a new home, many NGOs come forward to adopt them and handlers too sometimes visit them, as the bond between them is more than a duty companion."