Canine's on the police force

A detailed Summary of Canine's on the police force

Police dogs have become a vital part of the police force. They are well trained, obedient dogs that, unlike humans, do not fear the daily challenges that arise on the job. Police units throughout the world use K-9 units. They are employed by most local police forces and by many governmental agencies. Police dogs can search 400 to 500 packages in a half an hour. They can search a car every minute. This speed saves time, when a human searcher could only do about one car every twenty minutes. Also, according to Canada Customs, in one year, 1993, the dogs searched 80,000 cars, 11 million packages and 6 million units of cargo. From this, they found 58,000 pounds of marijuana, 3,027 pounds of hashish, 18 pounds of cocaine, 29 pounds of heroin, 5 pounds of opium and 4.3 million dosage units of illegal prescription-type drugs. The combined value of all these drugs in 1993 was $192.5 million dollars.

Throughout the years, dogs have been trained using natural and artificial scents; they continue to use this training by tracking people and substances, despite on the job hazards. As man evolved, he began to use dogs to hunt prey and search for food. However, as he became more civilized, he needed to use dogs

extremely powerful jaws with strong teeth, and have a

Each cell, on both dog and human, has cilia, which are tiny hair-like extensions of the cell. These can pick up more, thus increasing the surface area. In humans, the scrolls are equal to around 3 square centimeters. In a bloodhound (another dog often used on search teams), they have a heavy nose with 150 square centimeters of membrane. In both dogs and human, they become accustomed to a scent quickly. When we become accustomed to the scent, unless it is really bad, we won't smell it anymore. This is because the cells have stopped sending impulses to the brain, and the cells won't detect anything unless the smell gets stronger. In humans, as part of being more intelligent, we have developed a mechanism to suppress the recognition of an odour. However, dogs don't have this mechanism. If they did have it, then it would be a huge handicap when it's hunting. Also becoming used to a scent would be a handicap, but they can, in a sense, revive the cells by taking in a breath of fresh air. In humans we use our diaphragm to sniff, but dogs, and most other mammals, use their nostrils and the muscles in their nose to sniff. This allows them to sniff a lot faster, letting them take in more of the scent. One dog in particular has another special adaptation for trailing things. Scientists are not quite sure how, but bloodhounds seem to be able to pick up certain scents in specific parts of their nose. Every scent fits into the cell like a lock and key.

"The Border's Nosy Narcs." Time 21 March 1988: 33.

The way a dog's nose functions is an important part of understanding why they are so important to the police force. In a human nose, the olfactory cells (the cells that pick up scents), are high up in the nose and are all in an area less than one square inch. Most dogs, take the beagle's nose (a dog that is often used in search units), is drawn out, and their cells are six times as long. Also the cells are rolled up in a scroll shape inside the nose. These scrolls increase the surface area which the scents can hit and be detected.

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Approximate Word count = 2343
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous