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319 Police Canine (Issued 09-14-2010) 1 FRIDLEY POLICE DATE OF ISSUE NUMBER: GENERAL ORDER September 13, 2010 319 SUBJECT: REVISION DATE SECTION: Police Canine September 13, 2010 Yellow I. PURPOSE To identify responsibilities and establish rules and regulations in conjunction with the staffing, maintaining and utilization of the police canine unit within the Fridley Police Department. II. POLICY The utilization of canine units in making or maintaining an arrest is authorized when the circumstances justify the use. Officers must bear in mind that the use of canine units may constitute the use of force or implied threat of force. It is imperative that the handler be cognizant of the facts and circumstances surrounding a given situation before the dog is deployed. All involved officers are responsible for obtaining and supplying pertinent information to the canine unit relative to the deployment of the canine unit. III. OBJECTIVES A. The objectives of the canine unit is to provide trained police dog teams (handler and dog) to assist in the prevention and detection of crime, tracking of persons sought by the police and other duties as directed to them by the appropriate supervisor. All members of the department are directed to cooperate and assist in achieving these objectives B. The dog handler will function as both a patrol officer, who is the member of a shift and as a member of the canine team. These functions include but are not limited to: 1. Respond to calls-for-service as part of the patrol officer functions; 2. Perform building and area searches; 3. Service as a deterrent in certain situations; 4. Participate in public demonstrations approved by the department; 5. Conduct traffic enforcement; 6. Make arrests. 2 IV. UTILIZATION OF THE POLICE DOG A. Normally the police dog would not be used where there is no serious physical resistance, or against persons who are physically impaired, mentally ill, or pregnant. Primary exceptions would be where an officer is in a situation involving one of the below types, where it would become necessary for the officer to use escalating force either to protect the safety of another person or themselves. B. The police dog may be used for the following reasons: 1. To provide protection for the handler, other officers, and the public; 2. To assist in the arrest of dangerous criminals who are physically resisting arrest or who are fleeing, or actively attempting to flee, or escape custody; 3. To subdue a person who has threatened to do bodily harm to themselves or another, and other measures of control have failed or are impractical; 4. To assist in the search and apprehension of intruders, prowlers, escapees, burglars, trespassers, and in tracking or locating missing persons; a. when tactically appropriate, an announcement should be made advising all in the area that a police canine unit is searching the area; b. the announcement is reasonably loud enough to be heard in the area being searched; c. the announcement is made periodically in large areas; 5. To affect an arrest when resistance is encountered and other reasonable means have failed to overcome the resistance or are likely to fail, or would be impractical to use; 6. To help maintain or restore order at civil or major disturbances and crime scenes; 7. To locate controlled substances, explosives, and/or evidence; 3 8. On calls involving a weapon, police pursuits or high-risk traffic stops; 9. Building searches (once the following conditions have been met) a. It has been established that no one has a legitimate reason for being in the building; b. There is evidence that someone is in the building for other than legitimate reasons; c. An announcement is to be made: 1) Sufficiently loud to be heard throughout the building or that portion of the building about to be searched, that a police dog is about to enter the building and anyone inside should come out to a police officer; 2) The announcement is made periodically on large or multi-level locations; 3) A reasonable amount of time should be given for anyone to turn themselves in prior to the canine unit entering; 4) The handler will remain accountable for the dog’s actions; 5) The handler should not allow the dog to advance beyond a point at which the handler can control the dog by means of voice or hand commands. V. HANDLER RESPONSIBILITIES A. The handler must be constantly aware of the fact that a police officer may only use the amount of force which is necessary to make or maintain an arrest and must make every reasonable effort to take into account all facts known about the incident they are handling. B. The handler alone is responsible for making the decision to utilize the police dog. C. The police dog will be used in accordance with state statutes and Fridley Police Department policies. 4 D. The canine handler will notify the duty sergeant of any activity involving the use or implied use of the police dog. Such notification shall be made as soon as practical, and in no case later than the end of the shift the handler is currently working. Documentation, including reports and supplemental reports, will be required. E. The police dog handler will provide a monthly log of canine activities to the field operations commander. The handler will notify the field operations commander, as soon as practical, or any unique, special or unforeseen issues relating to the canine unit. F. The dog handler will have the dog for the entirety of each shift. If the dog cannot be present for any reason, the duty sergeant will be immediately advised of the reason for the dog’s absence. A determination will be made whether the handler can participate in patrol functions without the dog. The field operations commander will also be advised as soon as is practical as to the reason for the absence. VI. SUPERVISION The overall supervision of the canine unit will be the responsibility of the field operations commander. Daily supervision related to the shift activities will be the responsibility of the duty sergeants. Documentation related to the training and use of the canine unit will also be the responsibility of the canine handler. Tactical use and application of the canine will be at the discretion of the individual canine handler. VII. NOTIFICATION & REPORTS A. In the event an individual is bitten by the police dog, the handler will do the following: 1. As soon as reasonable possibly, proper medical treatment will be made available to the individual; 2. Any injuries need to be documented by photograph (when possible). a. In the event the police dog made contact with the individual to any extent, but no injuries were sustained, photographs need to be taken. B. As soon as practical, but prior to the end of the shift, a report will be completed by the handler accounting for the actions of the dog. If any injury occurred, witnessing officers will submit individual reports, any civilians who witness the actions of the canine team will also be identified. 5 C. The on-duty Sergeant will be notified as soon as practical of any incident involving the use of the police dog which results in injury. Copies of all reports need to be forwarded to the field operations commander as soon as they become available. VIII. CALL OUTS A. A canine unit will be available for call outs. The canine unit will be notified by means of the department issued cell phone. B. The canine handler will be compensated for callouts within the provisions of the Labor Agreement. C. The following needs to be considered prior to granting a call out: 1. Is another agency’s canine unit readily available and nearby. 2. The seriousness and nature of the event for the call out. 3. The response time of the Fridley Police Department Canine Unit. 4. Is this an inter-agency mutual aid request. 5. How much time has elapsed since the event. 6. The likelihood of locating and /or apprehending the subject. IX. ASSIST TO OTHER AGENCIES A. The canine unit will be available to assist other agencies when a specific mutual aid request is made by that agency. A shift supervisor may approve the request. If no shift supervisor is on duty, the canine handler will make a decision based on shift strength and call load in the City of Fridley. B. All Fridley Police Department policies and procedures will be adhered to by the canine unit. C. The following needs to be considered prior to granting a mutual aid request: 1. The seriousness and nature of the assist requested; 2. Is the distance to the location of the request a reasonable distance away; 6 3. How much time has elapsed since the request for assistance; 4. Is the canine unit on-duty or off-duty X. NARCOTICS DETECTOR DOG A. The goal of the canine unit is to have each canine team certified to USPCA Narcotics Detector Dogs Standard, which will assist in the detection of illegal narcotics. The canine is not to be used for narcotics detection purposes without being currently certified to USPCA Narcotics Detector Dog standards. Only the handler certified with a particular canine should conduct searches with that specific canine. B. Narcotics detection canines can detect the following: 1. Cocaine (and “crack”) 2. Heroin 3. Hashish 4. Marijuana 5. Opium 6. Methamphetamine 7. Controlled substances containing derivatives of the above C. The narcotics detection dog may be used for the following: 1. Sniffs during vehicle stops should follow applicable and current case laws. 2. School searches if: a. requested by another law enforcement agency, including a School Resource Officer (SRO), or school administration, and; b. the search is approved in advance by the field operations commander, and; 7 c. designated school staff, SRO, if applicable, and canine handler meet in advance of search, and; d. a determination will be made by the canine handler, the SRO, if applicable, and the school administration as to whether criminal charges or school administrative sanctions are to be applied. 3. Drug interdiction in public areas (common areas, bus terminals, etc.). 4. To build probable cause for a search warrant. 5. Assisting in the execution of search warrants. 6. Public demonstrations. 7. Searches of private businesses and residences as directed by the Public Safety Director or his/her designee. D. During searches, all persons, animals, and officers are to be kept out of the search area except as directed by the canine handler. E. The narcotics detection dog may not be used for the following reasons: 1. To search people. 2. To search cash monies for the odor of narcotics. 3. For a consent search if consent was gained after advising of drug dog. 4. Callouts for narcotics searches unless approved by a supervisor. F. Narcotics detector dog activity is to be appropriately documented. 1. The handler is responsible for documenting any searches (including any alerts) including the location of found narcotics. 2. The handler is to log and track all narcotics detector dog related activity. 3. The primary officer for the call or stop is responsible for processing and documenting any narcotics found and the reason for the canine search. 8 XI. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES FOR TRAINING A. To ensure the effectiveness of the narcotics detection canines, the team should train primarily with scent detection training aids and/or street drugs obtained per policy requirements. B. The field operations commander is responsible for issuing narcotics to canine handlers for training purposes and public demonstrations. C. When not in use for approved training or demonstration purposes, narcotics training aids should be secured as follows: 1. Each individual substance is to be secured in an airtight container. 2. Each container is to be secured in an airtight protective case. 3. The cases are to be secured in a locked safe and/or locker. 4. Only the Field Operations commander and canine handlers will have access to the training aids and/or narcotics. 5. Training aid logs are to be kept with the field operations commander. 6. All narcotics are to be weighed and logged upon removal and return from the secured area. 7. When narcotics are signed out, the narcotics are to be secured inside the locked protective case and locked to a permanently attached part of a vehicle, unless in direct observation of designated personnel. 8. Narcotics are to be inventoried and weighed quarterly (every 3 months) by the field operations commander and canine handler. 9. The responsible handler is to immediately document loss of any portion of any street drugs and notify the canine supervisor. D. Controlled substances seized by Law Enforcement officers acting in the scope of their duties may be used as training aids. 1. The seized substance is to be documented on an ICR and accounted for on an evidence sheet by weight and description; 2. The seized substance is signed over to the Field Operations commander by Evidence Room personnel; 9 3. The Field Operations commander logs the seized substance; 4. The seized substance is secured in the manner described in section X.C. of this General Order. XII. CANINE HANDLER SELECTION PROCEDURE A. The Public Safety Director, or his/her designee, will direct the method by which the handler is selected, and shall have the sole discretion as to who will receive the assignment as canine handler. B. The canine handler must reside within thirty (30) miles of the Fridley Police Department. C. The canine handler must successfully pass a yearly physical agility test. D. Though it is most desired that the canine handler owns his/her own residence, an individual living in a multifamily or rental housing location may be considered as long as it can be determined that kenneling of the canine unit in the home situation can be appropriately accommodated. E. The assignment of canine handler and responsibility of housing a canine cannot violate any laws, ordinances or association-type bylaws, residential covenants or leases. 1. If an association or covenant-type relationship exists, a written agreement between the association (or covenant) and the dog handler must be drafted. This document will agree to the canine unit, along with the kennel and related equipment, being present in the association or covenant. The agreement cannot be rescinded. This written document will be presented to the Public Safety Director or his/her designee, in a timely manner related to the selection of the canine handler. XIII. INITIAL TRAINING OF THE DOG AND HANDLER A. The Public Safety Director or his/her designee will establish the method, place and time of the initial training of the police dog and handler. The goal of the Fridley Police Department is to obtain initial Police Dog I certification and Detector Dog Certification as defined by the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) and to maintain those certifications. 10 XIV. TRAINING A. It will be the duty and responsibility of the handler to maintain the training of the police dog. The abilities of the dog are to be maintained at the level of Police Dog I. The department may direct additional training and certification which will then also become the handlers responsibility to maintain. B. Each canine team must complete a minimum of sixteen (16) hours per month of training, per the standards of the USPCA. Canine handlers will complete a training log. The department will allow the handler to be excused from duty for a minimum of 8 hours per month for in-service training. The excused shift should be made enough in advance as to limit any adverse impact to the patrol schedule. The canine handler will make arrangements with the canine unit’s duty sergeant most likely impacted by the schedule adjustment. C. Training while on-duty needs the prior approval of the duty sergeant. The handler and any officers assisting in the training will remain subject to call. D. Only individuals employed by the department or police dog handlers of other law enforcement agencies will be involved in the training of the police dog. If it is desired that other persons take part in any training, prior approval should be granted by the field operations commander. E. The canine handler will work with the Training Division to set up regular department-wide training to keep officers familiar with the aspects of working with a canine unit. F. It is a canine unit’s program goal to have handler and dog be members of the USPCA and to participate in USPCA regional trials and training, based upon available resources. XV. OWNERSHIP AND EXPENSES A. The ownership of any dog used as a police dog by the department will remain with the city. During the dog’s “working years”, the dog may be assigned or reassigned as needed. When the dog is retired, the last handler shall be given first opportunity to take over the ownership and care of the dog. The Public Safety Director will determine the fate of the animal. B. The city will finance expenses related to the maintenance of the canine unit. Extraordinary expenses anticipated for the care of the canine will require the prior approval of a division commander. 11 1. The cost of an outside fenced kennel, dog house, and concrete slab will be the responsibility of the city. a. The size, type and structure of the kennel, dog house and concrete slab will be at the direction of the city. b. If the handler elects to move, these items will be taken to the new site. For the first move, the police department will pay one half of the costs of a kennel replacement for the handler. For other moves the handler will be responsible for the cost of the replacement concrete slab along with any costs related to landscape corrections or removal of the kennel and concrete slab. The replacement slab will be installed as soon as reasonably possible. 2. The canine handler is responsible for: a. The scheduling of veterinarian appointments; b. Supplying the proper diet to the dog as directed by the department designated veterinarian; c. Ensuring the dog and all equipment related to the housing, transportation and service of the dog is in proper working order. XVI. HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND CARE A. Housing 1. The police dog will reside with the handler. 2. The dog will be confined to a locked kennel when the handler is not present and will not be allowed free of the kennel unless the handler is present to control the animal. (This includes the police facility.) 3. The dog will be subject to all animal control laws in the community in which they reside, and at no time be allowed to run free, except in the performance of its duties or training. 4. Any alternative housing arrangements are to be approved by the field operations commander. This includes extended leaves by the handler that necessitates the alternative housing of the animal. 12 5. The dog will be placed on a diet as approved by the department’s designated veterinarian. 6. Only those supplements and medicines approved by the department veterinarian will be given to the dog. B. Transportation 1. The canine team will be provided with a designated marked police car modified to provide safe transportation for the police dog. 2. This car will be clearly marked “CANINE” which will be visible from all approaches. 3. If the canine and handler become widely separated from their car, they may be transported in another car. a. It will be the responsibility of the handler to prevent the dog from doing any damage. b. The handler and dog will be seated together. c. If the transporting car gets dirty from the dog, the handler will see that the interior of the car is properly cleaned as soon as possible. 4. No other department vehicles will be used to transport the dog without proper approval of a division commander and/or duty sergeant unless the department has a designated back-up K9 vehicle. 5. It will be the handler’s responsibility for the take-home squad’s general care. a. The handler will ensure that it is presented for scheduled maintenance as required. b. The handler will ensure that the vehicle is regularly washed and the interior is clean. c. The handler will comply with all department policies pertaining to police vehicles. d. The canine unit squad vehicle will be equipped with a lockable safe mounted in the trunk, if equipped; 13 e. When the vehicle is at the handler’s residence, the handler will be responsible for securing any weapons by utilizing lock boxes in the trunk of the squad unless parked inside a secured garage. C. General Care and Compensation 1. The handler will receive eight (8) hours time off per 14-day cycle as a schedule adjustment for time spent caring for the police dog. This adjustment is related to the care of the police dog committed during both on-duty and off-duty days. The scheduled day off will be determined by the field operations commander and the canine handlers. If, because of illness or special circumstances, it becomes necessary to spend more time caring for the dog, the field operations commander will be notified as soon as practical. The field operations commander will make such adjustments as are necessary to provide fair compensation for the time spent caring for the dog. 2. General compensation will be in accordance with the provisions of the current Labor Agreement.