India’s police dogs are all foreign breeds, that’s going to change now
Almost all police dogs currently in service are foreign breeds such as German Shepherd, Labrador, Belgian Malinois, and Cocker Spaniel Image Courtesy PTI
According to officials, Indian dog breeds including the Rampur Hound, Himachali Shepherd, Gaddi and Bakharwal, and Tibetan Mastiff are likely to be used in the near future for police work such as searching for suspects, drugs, and explosives as well as patrolling high-risk areas.
The Rampur Hound is one of several Indian canine breeds currently undergoing testing with the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), which include the BSF, CRPF, and CISF. Additionally, a directive for testing Himalayan mountain dogs has been issued.
Almost all police dogs currently in service are foreign breeds such as German Shepherd, Labrador, Belgian Malinois, and Cocker Spaniel.
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“The trial of the Indian dog breed Mudhol hound has already been concluded by the SSB and the ITBP. Trials of a few other Indian dog breeds like the Rampur hound are also undergoing at the canine training centres of the CRPF and the BSF,” a Home Ministry official told the media.
Additionally, the Ministry has mandated that trials be conducted simultaneously by the Border Security Force (BSF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) for Himalayan mountain canines like the Himachali shepherd, Gaddi, Bakharwal, and the Tibetan mastiff. The trials are now underway.
In the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed using science to advance regional dog breeds.
The Police Service K9 (PSKs) squads provide all of the canines used by the CAPFs. The BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, NSG, and Assam Rifles are the CAPFs that hire and train the canines for police work.
Along with patrols and other duties, police dogs are trained to search for explosives like IEDs and mines, narcotics, and counterfeit money.
According to the official, dogs are occasionally deployed in search operations to find terrorists.
The Home Ministry has also made a number of crucial moves to improve the ecosystem and culture of learning and cooperation between the CAPFs and other law enforcement agencies on the subject of PSKs.
With almost 4,000 canines, the CAPFs use more police dogs than any other agency in the nation. The CAPFs employ about 300 puppies yearly.
The Central Reserve Police Force has the most dogs among the CAPFs (about 1,500), followed by the Central Industrial Security Force (around 700). Another insider reported that the National Security Guard (NSG), a counterterrorism outfit, has roughly 100 dogs.
The home ministry established the K9 squad in 2019 as a part of its police modernization project with the intention of streamlining the breeding, training, and dog selection processes.
It’s interesting to note that all CAPF combat dogs are currently subject to an annual evaluation process to determine their effectiveness and fitness for activities including sniffing out suspects, drugs, and hidden explosives, in addition to patrolling risk-prone locations, the source said.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been created for the K9 squads of these forces by the Home Ministry, which is in charge of the CAPFs and numerous other forces, and they have been instructed to include it in their curriculum for canine training.
“The ambit of internal security was widening, the difference between internal and external security threats was getting narrower, and police and CAPF dogs were an effective force multiplier for ensuring safety and security of the troops in operations and also the citizens,” the official said.
