K9 PROFICIENCY EVALUATION TEST (PET) TEST & K9 BEHAVIOUR ASSESSMENT TEST (BAT) PROTOCOLS FOR POLICE DOGS IN INDIA
For Promotion, Police Dogs will have to take K9 Test
Police dogs that are part of canine squads of Central para-military forces shall now be evaluated annually based on the ‘K9 proficiency evaluation test’ developed by the home ministry in line with global performance standards, while all young dogs will be put through ‘K9 behaviour assessment test’ at the entry-level to evaluate their suitability for detection purpose or patrol work or for both, and get trained accordingly, a top official in the home ministry told TOI.
The K9 proficiency evaluation test (PET) and K9 behaviour assessment test (BAT) have been devised by the MHA Police K9 cell, a dedicated wing established last year under the police modernisation division of the home ministry with the mandate of mainstreaming and augmentation of police K9s in the country.
The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) is planning a three-fold expansion of its canine squads over the next few years. A February 25-26 MHA seminar, organised by the Police Modernisation Division tasked with equipping the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), recommended augmenting breeding by CAPF dog training and breeding centres to produce 1,000 pups of various breeds each year. The MHA presently acquires around 300 pups a year. The three major breeds—German Shepherd, Labrador and Belgian Malinois—could be augmented by several Indian breeds currently under suitability trials with the CAPFs.
The seminar held in New Delhi saw participation from all seven CAPFs operating under the MHA. “As a first step, we want to increase the performance standards of our dogs to improve their efficiency and make them more effective force multipliers,” says Colonel Pramod Kumar Chugh (retired), consulting director at the MHA’s Police K9 cell. The second step would be to increase the numbers of dogs, which calls for improving infrastructure, such as kennels, and identifying quality breeding stock—males and females of exceptional quality—produced for police duty.
The seminar concluded that dual-purpose dogs needed to be acquired by the CAPFs and central paramilitary forces. The CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) is the only CAPF that employs multipurpose canines for counter-Maoist operations. “Dual-purpose canines are the way ahead because while explosive detection dogs use their nose to work, we are not exploiting their natural instinct—to attack and defend,” says Colonel Chugh.
The CAPFs, with nearly 4,000 canines, are the largest police dog users in the country. The dogs are used for a variety of tasks, from explosive detection to assault and guard roles. The CRPF uses nearly 1,500 canines while the NSG (National Security Guard), a counter-terrorist force, has fewer than 100 dogs. The CAPFs are exploring the use of dogs for other tasks, such as fake currency identification.
The Police K9 cell, which was established within the MHA in 2019, plans to streamline the breeding, training and selection of dogs. It has set up a proficiency cell to implement a new set of behaviour assessment tests, what it calls the ‘Augmentation of K9s by Licensing as per Accreditation Norms’ (AKLAN). These tests will assess the proficiency of pups for police and paramilitary roles. Earlier, there was no model of assessment and only random audits were carried out.
The CAPFs are also assessing the suitability of inducting various Indian hounds for police duties. The CRPF is evaluating the Combai dog, native to Tamil Nadu, while the BSF (Border Security Force) is trying out the Rampur Greyhound, native to northern India. The ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) and SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) are trying out four species of Himalayan sheep dogs—the Gaddi, Bakharwal, Tibetan Mastiff and Himachali hounds. The seminar also recommended modern breeding techniques, such as artificial insemination, and an upgrade in canine training.
“With K9 BAT it would be easy to screen the most suitable pups or young adults and K9 PET or ‘aanklan’ would help in evaluating serving police dogs against globally-accepted performance standards. These test models were shared with various Central para-military forces in September 2020 for implementation,” Col P K Chug, consulting director of the MHA Police K9 cell, told TOI.
BAT consists of 12 sub-tests that evaluate the behaviour/reaction of a dog prior to his specialised training, on counts such as affability, handling, leash, retrieving, the reaction on an unstable table, search, metal stair, visual startle, gradual visual startle, acoustic startle, dark room reaction and gunshot reaction. “A confident dog displays less or no reaction to these sub-tests. Based on results, one can determine if the dog is suited to and has a natural flair for detection or patrol work or both,” said Chug.
Regarding K9 PET, he said the MHA has given the Central forces two years for compliance. “This means that serving dogs who fail to clear the test can be put through refresher courses to enhance their proficiency to the level demanded by the test, which they must finally clear,” he explained.
The long-term plan is to let the Central forces assess the proficiency of their working dogs internally every six months and put them through an independent audit on an annual basis.
“We have issued these performance standards, which we are calling minimum level operational capabilities, for each specialisation. These are the benchmark criteria which a trained dog should achieve annually in a quantifiable manner,” said Chug.
An interesting advantage of the yearly evaluation of proficiency of trained police dogs is that their testimony shall be admissible in the court of law. This means that the evidence gathered by the canines in the form of narcotics, explosives etc detected by them, shall be admissible in a court of law since their proficiency would have been assessed and certified within a legally accepted timeframe.
Meanwhile, a two-day seminar is being organised by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) starting Thursday to discuss the use of dual-purpose police K9s (who can perform detection as well as patrol functions) for augmenting national security.
The second national police K9 seminar, to be inaugurated by home secretary Ajay Bhalla, will also discuss current emerging fields in canine training and the use of indigenous breeds as working dogs.
K9 PROFICIENCY EVALUATION TEST (PET) TEST & K9 BEHAVIOUR ASSESSMENT TEST (BAT) PROTOCOLS FOR POLICE DOGS IN INDIA CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM HERE:
POLICE SERVICE K9 PROFICIENCY EVALUATION TEST (K9-PET) FOR
Source: Times of India
