NEW DELHI: According to officials, the Tibetan mastiff, Himachali shepherd, Gaddi, and Bakharwal, as well as the Indian dog breed Rampur hound, will soon be used for police tasks like drug and bomb detection and suspect identification in addition to risk assessment patrols. While some dog species, like the Rampur Hound, are undergoing testing, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the BSF, CRPF, and CISF, are all set to enlist Indian canine breeds for police duty. Additionally, an order to test the Himalayan mountain dogs has been issued.Currently, foreign breeds including German shepherds, Labradors, Belgian Malinois, and Cocker spaniels make up the majority of police dogs. “The SSB and ITBP have already wrapped up the trial with the Indian dog breed known as the Mudhol hound. A home ministry official stated that some other Indian dog breeds, such as the Rampur hound, are also being tested at the BSF and CRPF’s canine training facilities. In addition, the ministry has mandated that the Border Security Force (BSF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) simultaneously test Himalayan mountain dogs like as the Himachali shepherd, Gaddi, Bakharwal, and the Tibetan mastiff. The trials are now underway.In the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed using science to promote regional canine breeds. Each dog that the CAPFs lease out is a member of a Police Service K9 (PSK) unit. The BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, NSG, and the Assam Rifles are the CAPFs that hire and train canines for use in law enforcement. In addition to patrols, police dogs are trained to detect drugs, counterfeit currency, and explosives like IEDs and mines.According to the official, dogs are occasionally utilised in terrorist search operations. A few crucial actions have also been done by the home ministry to improve the mutual learning and cooperation culture and ecosystem between the CAPFs and other law enforcement and police organisations regarding PSKs. With almost 4,000 canines, the CAPFs utilise police dogs more than any other agency in the nation. Approximately 300 dogs are employed by the CAPFs annually. Of all the CAPFs, the Central Reserve Police Force has the most dogs—roughly 1,500—while the Central Industrial Security Force has the second-highest number—roughly 700. About 100 canines are part of the National Security Guard (NSG), a counterterrorism outfit, according to another official.In 2019, as part of its police modernization project, the home ministry established the K9 squad with the goal of streamlining the dog breeding, training, and selection processes. Interestingly, in addition to patrolling risk-prone locations, all combat dogs of the CAPFs are currently subject to an annual evaluation exercise to determine their effectiveness and suitability for their designated jobs, such as sniffing out suspects, drugs, and hidden explosives, the official stated. The home ministry, which is in charge of the CAPFs and a number of other forces, has created a standard operating procedure (SOP) and instructed the K9 squads of these forces to incorporate it into their curriculum for training dogs.“The ambit of internal security was widening, the difference between internal and external security threats was getting narrower, and police and CAPF dogs were an effective force multiplier for ensuring safety and security of the troops in operations and also the citizens,” added the officer.
