Indian dog breeds to be deployed in police duties soon

The Rampur hound, Himalayan mountain canines Himachali shepherd, Gaddi and Bakharwal, and the Tibetan mastiff are anticipated to be deployed shortly for police activities such as smelling out suspects, narcotics, and explosives, as well as monitoring risk-prone regions, according to officials.

 

Currently, practically all police dogs are foreign breeds such as the German shepherd, Labrador, Belgian Malinois, and Cocker spaniel.

"The SSB and ITBP have already completed the trial of the Indian dog breed Mudhol hound." A few other Indian dog breeds, including as the Rampur hound, are also being tested at the CRPF and BSF canine training centers, according to a home ministry official.

Furthermore, the ministry has authorized simultaneous testing of Himalayan mountain dogs such as the Himachali shepherd, Gaddi, Bakharwal, and Tibetan mastiff by the Border Security Force (BSF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). The trials are now underway.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already mentioned scientifically developing native dog breeds.

All of the canines hired by the CAPFs are members of the Police Service K9 (PSKs) teams. The CAPFs that hire and train canines for police work include the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, NSG, and the Assam Rifles.

In addition to patrols, police dogs are trained to detect explosives such as IEDs and mines, drugs, and counterfeit currency.

According to the authority, dogs are occasionally utilized in search operations to detect terrorists.

On the subject of PSKs, the home ministry has also made a few critical efforts to promote the culture and ecology of mutual learning and collaboration among CAPFs and other police and law enforcement organizations.

With approximately 4,000 canines, the CAPFs are the country's largest police dog users.Every year, the CAPFs hire around 300 puppies.

The Central Reserve Police Force has the most dogs (about 1,500), followed by the Central Industrial Security Force (approximately 700).Another officer stated that the counter-terrorism organization National Security Guard (NSG) had roughly 100 dogs.

The home ministry established the K9 squad in 2019 as part of its police modernization initiative, with the goal of streamlining canine breeding, training, and selection.

Interestingly, all CAPF combat dogs are now subjected to a yearly evaluation exercise to examine their effectiveness and appropriateness for their specific responsibilities such as sniffing out suspects, drugs, and concealed explosives, as well as patrolling risk-prone regions, according to the official.

The home ministry, which commands the CAPFs and other forces, has developed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for these forces' K9 squads and has instructed them to incorporate it in their dog-training curriculum.

"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 officer went on to say.