Performance Testing and Maintenance for Police Service Dogs

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Definitions

Director:  The Director of Policing and Law Enforcement Services referred to in section 39 (1) of the Police Act.

Handler-Dog Team:  A police officer who is trained to handle police dogs and the police dog assigned to that officer.

Police Dog Handler:  A police officer who is trained to handle police dogs.

Standards

Annual Testing

The Chief Constable, Chief Officer, or Commissioner must:

(1) Ensure that every police dog in use by the police service is tested in accordance with the following schedule:

(a) Prior to a dog entering service; and
(b) Annually thereafter.

(2) Ensure that testing of police dogs, other than sniffer/detector dogs trained and used only for the purposes of locating drugs or explosives/firearms, is conducted in accordance with protocols described in the BC Police Dog (General Duty) Testing Requirements attached to this Standard as Appendix “A”.

(3) Ensure that a record of testing is maintained showing:

(a) The dates testing occurred; and
(b) The results of the testing.

Performance maintenance

The Chief Constable, Chief Officer, or Commissioner must:

(4) Ensure that weekly practice is conducted by every Handler-Dog Team, except for Police Dog Handlers on leave.

(5) Ensure that every Handler-Dog Team continues to maintain the standard of performance required by the testing referred to in Standard (2) above, except for Police Dog Handlers on leave.

(6) Ensure detailed records of weekly practice sessions are kept and maintained, in a form and manner approved by the Director, including:

(a) The date;
(b) The identity of the dog and handler;
(c) The training exercises conducted;
(d) The performance and behaviour of the dog; and
(e) Any aspects of the performance that require attention.

Policies and procedures

The Chief Constable, Chief Officer, or Commissioner must ensure that:

(7) All policies and procedures are consistent with these BC Provincial Policing Standards.

Annotations

Weekly maintenance:  Does not require that it is always conducted under the organization and supervision of agency instructors/supervisors. Weekly practice includes the handler practicing on their own with their dog.

Appendix

• Appendix "A" for BCPPS 1.4.4 - Performance Testing and Maintenance (PDF, 545KB)