Southfield Police K-9 Unit

History

After extensive research and planning, the Southfield Police Department Canine Unit was established in 1994 with one K-9 team. Since its inception, the K-9 unit has continued to enhance our efforts to provide the best service possible to the citizens of the community. The Southfield Police K-9 Unit has expanded over the years and currently consists of 4 highly trained police K-9 teams. Two of our K-9 teams are certified in narcotic detection and 2 of them are certified in explosive detection. Our police canines are multi-purpose dogs that can be utilized for a variety of different situations. Look below to see some of the different ways our K-9 teams are utilized.

Narcotics and Explosives Detection

It is estimated that a canine has a sense of smell that is 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger that that of a human. In addition, for every scent receptor that a human has, a canine has about 50. For these reasons, it makes them exceptional at detecting narcotic and explosive odors. Our K-9 teams are trained on a multitude of explosive and narcotic odors. When the canine detects one of these odors they are trained to alert by displaying a passive or aggressive alert. Our explosive detection dogs are used in situations where bomb threats are made at a specified location. The explosive K-9 teams will conduct a sweep of the targeted area in search for explosives to ensure the safety of the citizens at and around the target location. Our narcotics K-9 teams regularly assist in conducting sweeps of vehicles and buildings in search of narcotics.

Building Searches/Article Searches/Area Searches

Our police canines are also specifically trained to detect human odor and to go to the strongest source of that odor. In certain situations, it may be necessary to deploy a police canine into a building to quickly locate and apprehend a concealed suspect after giving that suspect warnings and a reasonable opportunity to surrender. In these situations, it is very dangerous for a police officer to enter the building themselves. The canines are better equipped to quickly locate the suspect without putting police officers in danger.

Our police canines are also used for article searches and area searches which can be helpful in locating evidence articles (Guns, knives, clothing, etc.), suspects who have committed a crime, and in some cases deceased persons.

Tracking

Our K-9 teams are extensively trained in tracking which can be particularly useful in locating missing persons, including lost children and persons suffering from cognitive impairment. The canines are also able to track suspects who have committed crimes and fled on foot. Our canines are trained to locate human odor in the last place that a person was observed and to follow their scent trail until the person in located.

Suspect apprehension / Handler protection

Our canines are thoroughly trained in suspect apprehension and handler protection. In a lot of circumstances, the canine is the first one to engage the suspect and puts their lives in danger to help protect the public. Our canines may be deployed to apprehend a fleeing suspect on foot or locate a suspect hiding in a building. Our canine partners are also trained in handler protection; if the handler is being assaulted the canine will immediately engage the suspect.

Our K-9 teams conduct training daily to ensure the canines stay in shape and continuously perform at an optimal level. Our K-9 teams also regularly train with multiple K-9 training groups statewide to continuously enhance our abilities, so that we can continue providing the best quality service possible to the citizens of the community.