I think you are confusing sourcing with training. TSA obtains its dogs from a variety of sources (US DoD, private vendors). The dogs it obtains are untrained (except for the basic sit, stay, etc). The dogs are then evaluated for a period of time for suitability for detection work and if deemed suitable, then they are paired with a handler and both go through NEDCT program together. TSA does not use any canines already trained in detection discipline.

It seems to me that article was poorly written (shocking for a wire service, I know) and the writer simply included a term for a subject about which s/he was familiar but not knowledgeable. That was a demo of PSCs. I believe some state/local agencies are training narcotics canines for working crowds such as at large public events (although I do not know how that passes constitutional muster - topic for another forum) but TSA simply is not training PSCs for narcotics.

You will be pleasantly surprised - most LEAs, including airport police departments LOVE to demonstrate their dog teams and their abilities to the public. Just call up and ask when you can drop by for a demo. It might have to be with an already scheduled demonstration (school groups, scout troops, civic groups, open houses) - but I will be very surprised if they deny you an opportunity. While you are out there get a tour of the fire dept - they love to show off their cool truck and toys.

Ok, if I understand correctly non-TSA canine teams will not be working TSA checkpoints.

Question, If non-TSA teams are working airports, in non-immigration areas, are random searches for drugs permissible under the 4th? I can certainly see the deployment of other agency ED teams in airports and use of drug canines in Customs inspection areas.

Just curious, I don't use illegal substances but I am concerned about increasing police surveillance, personal data collection, along with what I perceive as a more militant police presence.

Ditto - which is why I don't want the dogs at airport departures (would be fine if their route was limited to international arrivals - in fact they are preferable to the xray line).

I can't say definitively that non-TSA teams will not be working be working at or near TSA checkpoints - currency detection teams and other teams could certainly be working checkpoints or other parts of the sterile area.

As to your question about the 4th Amend: I personally do not see how such a search would be permissible.

However, I can easily envision a scenario where a drug detection dog alerts while a person is walking by so the handler notifies a second officer who makes contact with the passenger and during the course of that interaction the second officer, based on his experience and training, develops a reasonable suspicion the person is violating a law due to the person's demeanor and responses to questions. The interaction then escalates to an investigative stop. During the investigation, the second officer asks if the person would mind if a dog inspects his luggage/person. If the person says yes, the dog alerts again officially and its off to the races. If pax says no, then the officer becomes more suspicious and increases the intensity of the investigative stop until he can reasonable justify a search of the person (and every decent cop can do this - its what they are trained to do; its their bread and butter).

I share your concerns.

I was thinking about the questions I asked and then questioned my position on some similar issues. Say an ED dog is walking the halls of an airport and alerts. I personally would want an investigation started then I ask is this any different than alerting on drugs and would it be a permissible search. In my mind I am less concerned about drugs because for the most part don't endanger an aircraft I might be on. Yet I would support an effort to interdict explosives. To me the situations are different.

I see no purpose of having currency detection dogs in an airport, at least not at TSA checkpoints. Cash in and of itself is legal in any amount. Also is not a safety of flight concern no matter why a person might have it. Airports cannot be turned into police dragnets in an effort to avoid legal 4th amendment searches or just good old fashioned police work. I do waiver on that point if the purpose is strictly limited to Safety of Flight searches and investigations.

I find it distressing that a drug dog handler that had a suspicion would alert another officer in order to engage a person. As you describe it, the person is going to be searched one way or the other and it doesn't matter what the person says or does. That goes to the heart of circumventing legal searches to my way of thinking. Is that really the country we want to live in?

I really think that we as a nation should take a step back and really consider just where we are headed as a country. I don't like what I see and feel that my career military service has been wasted on protecting the freedoms that many Americans just don't appreciate. As it was stated many years ago; Divided We Fall!

Every airport is different, but from what I've heard, BOS only has one State Police Narc K9 and the rest of the MSP dogs are all TSA-certified ED K9s. And I've never seen said narc dog, I've only seen the MSP ED K9s. Supposedly, that dog is only brought out if they have credible police intelligence from other units that some trafficker is possibly coming through. Again, this is all second hand, so I can't confirm it.

As for them being cross-trained I don't think TSA would permit it because all ED K9s whether TSA-handled or LEO-handled go through the TSA CTC at Lackland, which is strictly explosives training only. I'm sure if an agency was cross-train said dog, the dog and handlers certification would be yanked by TSA.

Not to mention GAO has done not one but two reports on the NEDCTP and I'm sure that would have come up during their investigations.

I wasn't speaking to cross-trained dogs in my remark. I was suggesting that I see a difference searching for explosives differently than a search for drugs in the airport environment even while I questioned if the search for drugs would be inline with the 4th.

Boggie,

If you are interested to meet with the ED K9 unit at DFW for a demonstration, please PM me for the contact info.

Appreciate the offer but live well over an hour away from DFW, several hours in some traffic situations, and also have a full time day job. I just don't see finding time for that excursion.

Edit to add: Was friends with a military drug dog handler some years ago so have some exposure to how dogs are deployed.

A little bit of background - I was living outside of the US for more than a decade and while I did have trips coming back to the US in SFO, over the last 12 years I had a single domestic flight.

Today I witnessed (and experienced) the following scene while going thru an ordinary (non-TSE Precheck) line: everyone in the line (which was half of the terminal long) at one point was stopped and then was ordered to walk in pairs about 30ft the same pace while a woman with K9 walking that dog (quite a large one) in front and past them while shouting 'walk the same pace, don't stop, don't interact!'.

What was this, how long has this practice been in place, and what purpose does it serve?

Apart from that and despite being scared that I am going to miss my flight (arrived 1.5h before the departure) surprisingly it took no more than 20 min to go thru the security. Another observation is that these body scanners are not in operation any more, everyone goes thru a plain old metal detector, and you don't need to remove your toiletries and shoes.

Is this some kind of temporary thing or policy change? Since when?

I’ve only experienced dogs after arrival in the international terminal so it’s definitely not the norm to see in T3. I concur that SFO security is very efficient; with all the stories of travel chaos lately, I wish some other airports would take some lessons from them.

The dogs sniff for explosives. As to the purpose it serves� pretty much the same purpose as the rest of the �security� operations.

Sometimes they seem to open the metal detectors instead of the body scanners (to quote: �pretty much the same purpose as the rest of the �security� operations). An hour later, they might have swapped everything around.

Ive seen this at IAD at the non TSA pre check line when i was going through with someone who was not eligible for pre check. This was pre going down the escalators to the actual security lanes (to the right of the elevators, in front of the TK check in area). People were then directed to go down the elevators and not the escalators.

I've seen them do this when they are basically giving the pre-check experience to everyone, which sounds like what happened in your case. Usually happens when they have a backup or are short on personnel, so they do this method to get people through faster.

The full body scanners are definitely in operation. Wife (with knee replacement) uses them every time. There only have 1 per 2 or 3 lines of standard scanners.