Yoshi212

They also claim to follow their own rules & the law, have respect for people, and prevent terrorism.

Boggie Dog

Yes, my use of the word "claim" was not accidental.

petaluma1

greggarious

I saw this done at LAS... it freaked me out because the line was super, super long but it moved quickly since they were sending 1/4 of people through precheck (regardless of if they had it or not) - no removing shoes etc

iluv2fly

Canine gauntlet at RSW (Ft. Meyers) a few days ago.

Section 107

TSA dogs are NOT trained for narcotics detection. I know a fair amount about TSA's NEDCP and they quite simply do not train for other than explosives.

Other elements of DHS do train dogs for narcotics and other items, such as people, but TSA does not. Aside from that, almost no-one, and certainly no reputable trainer, will train a dog in both explosives and narcotics - the potential for catastrophic mistake is simply too high.

chucko

I don't think they can be trained for both. It's one or the other. Dogs trained to detect drugs get all excited and even paw at the bag when they sniff something, which wouldn't be a good idea if a bag is carrying explosives (explosive-sniffing dogs are trained to sit when they suss something). You'll probably see more of this, since the administration's proposal to consign lithium-ion batts to the cargo hold went down in flames (so to speak). Dogs are just another means of screening for explosives.

Boggie Dog

CBP apparently trains dogs to detect both firearms and currency. If a canine can be taught those two things why not other pairs of items?

https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/.../disciplines-2

GUWonder

They can be trained for both. Whether the dogs used at TSA screening checkpoints/the line leading to the TSA TDC are trained for both or not is something else. Some of those dogs aren’t TSA dogs.

Bearcat06

TSA has ZERO K9s that search for dope.... all their K9s search for explosive devices.

CBP and USDA have K9s that search for dope and illegal goods being smuggled into the US....

Boggie Dog

I'll take on face value your statement to be true. Do any other agencies have canines screening passengers? Ever?

beachmouse

If you see beagles, it's USDA. They like them for food inspection because the beagles are both very food driven and are seen as non-threatening by passengers. Smaller dogs also typically have a longer lifespan (and working life) than bigger dogs, so possibly less turnover and fewer training expenses in the canine ranks than other agencies that use bigger dogs.

CDTraveler

Beagles in little green jackets - you know you're back in the USA.

Another reason they use beagles is because beagles are very emphatic when they find something, no missing their signal on an alert. Of course, if you're standing near the culprit, the baying/barking/yapping can get pretty annoying.

Section 107

A dog can be trained to indicate when it detects both explosives and drugs, but as mentioned earlier, TSA does not train its dogs to do both, no reputable trainer will do so, and no law enforcement agency, certainly not one in the transportation sector, will employ a canine trained in both. Dogs do make mistakes and could give an incorrect indication for what it has detected; the consequences for such a mistake could be catastrophic and no governmental unit will take that risk.

There are thousands of law enforcement agencies just in the US so it is not possible to definitively state that none but TSA and its partner agencies are using PSCs. But I have not heard of any US federal entity other than TSA having a PSC program nor have I heard of any airports or mass transit LEA having their own canine teams not supplied by TSA using PSCs.

There is a move afoot on Capitol Hill to augment the number of canines in service for the transportation sector by using what are termed "private sector canines." These are dogs that are sourced and trained by third part contractors. TSA is opposed to this for consistency and quality control purposes; TSA's program is robust and highly respected but it feels it would not have effective oversight over the quality of the dogs and their training if conducted by contractors, even if some/many of them are highly reputable.

Boggie Dog

I fail to understand the distinction between narcotics and drugs as far as when a detection dog would be involved. I posted earlier in this thread that CBP trains dogs to detect both currency and firearms so it is clear that dogs can be taught to detect more than one target item. Seems to me that a police search by canine during passenger screening without warrant would be a violation.