A police dog is a valuable law-enforcement tool but can also become a dangerous weapon. Implementing limits on how those dogs can be used is a prudent and necessary step.
Police departments in B.C. have until Sept. 1, 2015, to implement guidelines on police dogs set out by the provincial government. The standards were created by a working group that involved police representatives from across the province, including those from the B.C. RCMP and Saanich and Victoria departments.
Until now, B.C. has been alone in Canada in not having regulations governing the deployment of police dogs to apprehend a suspect, says a 91原创 legal advocacy group.
The Pivot Legal Society conducted a three-year study that found 490 people were bitten and injured by police dogs in B.C. between 2010 and 2012. Interviews with dog-bite victims indicated that in many cases, dogs were being used in relatively minor crimes. In some instances, dogs were used against minors or where police were chasing the wrong person.
The study found that incidents resulting in dog bites were highest in 91原创 and lowest in Saanich and New Westminster.
The new guidelines stipulate that police dogs can bite only if someone is 鈥渃ausing or about to cause bodily harm, or is fleeing or hiding and 鈥� there are reasonable grounds for immediate apprehension by a police-dog bite.鈥�
Dog handlers are required to consider the seriousness of the offence and whether lesser force can be used. The age of the suspect must also be considered, and officers are required to warn suspects before a dog is used.
For local police departments, the provincial guidelines standardize what is already happening. And the standards are not something imposed on police departments, but worked out with the participation of police services.
Dogs are valuable members of police forces, doing things human officers can鈥檛 do, such as tracking suspects, searching buildings and sniffing out illegal substances. Like Taser stun guns, they can also be used instead of lethal force, reducing the danger to officers and suspects alike.
The trouble with Tasers is that they too often were used to force compliance or to subdue suspects. The sad outcome of that approach was the death in 2007 of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who had become agitated and distraught while trying to clear customs at the 91原创 airport. Dziekanski was tasered several times by police and died at the scene.
That incident resulted in an examination of and changes in stun-gun policies. In 2007, before the Dziekanski incident, police in B.C. used Tasers 640 times. In 2011, B.C. police recorded only 85 incidents involving Tasers, as police relied more heavily on their verbal skills and physical tools.
And so, too, should it be with dogs 鈥� they should be allowed to attack only when less forceful methods are deemed inappropriate, not just because it鈥檚 the easiest way to bring down a suspect.
The new guidelines include training and testing requirements. The Pivot study found that the police departments with the most training had the least dog-bite incidents, Saanich being an example of good training 鈥� its canine department has won top honours several times at the 91原创 Police Canine Championships. Police work is unpredictable; seemingly innocuous situations can turn deadly. Rules cannot cover every possibility, and police officers are called upon to make split-second decisions. There must be room for judgment calls, for trying to find the best solution in a bad situation.
Consistent standards across the province, along with appropriate training, should not be seen as a constraint, but should help police do their job better.
