New Police Dog in Terre Haute: Cell Phone Sniffing

[jdmack79]

Kirk Freeman would approve of the latest type of police dog, cell phone sniffers. I don't believe that a dog would be able to smell a phone. This seems like a scam to me.

Vigo Co Jail gets phone tracking dog

 

[downzero]

Only the government would use a dog to find what is, essentially, a radio transmitter.

 

[gdunn]

I have family that works in the prison system. This is a major security concern. And yes, these dogs actually can detect things like cell phones, but also sniff out other types of electronics too.

 

[spectre327]

as a circuit board heats up it gives off a faint burning scent that is very detectable by a human if you get reaaaaalllllyyyyy close. Clean the dust out of your tower computer or laptop then run it for a good 5 minutes. Smell next to the air vents.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I have no words.

Well, yeah, I do but I need to investigate this.

Did this dog magically evolve the ability like they do with pills or was it trained?

 

[miguel]

Damn, when they retire this dog, I want it for Mrs. Miguel...she can never find her cel phone.

 

[jgreiner]

Damn, when they retire this dog, I want it for Mrs. Miguel...she can never find her cel phone.

LOL...i had the same thought. Maybe I should train my beagle....he has one heck of a nose.

 

[gdunn]

I have no words.

Well, yeah, I do but I need to investigate this.

Did this dog magically evolve the ability like they do with pills or was it trained?

Dogs have to be trained. They are rewarded and taught that it is somewhat of a game. They get rewarded and praise for finding what they are trained to find. To them it's nothing more then a game of hide and seek.

 

[jerryv]

Dogs have to be trained. They are rewarded and taught that it is somewhat of a game. They get rewarded and praise for finding what they are trained to find. To them it's nothing more then a game of hide and seek.

+1. A dog's sense of smell is about 1000 times greater than ours .. so you just have to teach them which smells you're interested in, and they'll gladly do so for praise and a biscuit.

 

[XSVskill]

The tv show "Alpha Dogs" which revolves around a working dog training facility here in indiana, just has an episode where they are training dogs to sniff out cell phones in a prison setting.

 

[jdmack79]

I will claim that I can train a dog to sniff out people who distrust the government. The police will have no way to prove my dog knows what it is doing. How much will they pay?

 

[24Carat]

I will claim that I can train a dog to sniff out people who distrust the government. The police will have no way to prove my dog knows what it is doing. How much will they pay?

LOL! It would be more fun to float the rumor you had one that could sniff out traitors.

 

[spectre327]

LOL! It would be more fun to float the rumor you had one that could sniff out traitors.

But....Wouldn't leave us without a police force and government?

 

[Denny347]

But....Wouldn't leave us without a police force and government?

police=traitors? Classy.

 

[24Carat]

But....Wouldn't leave us without a police force and government?

I feel assured the closer one would get to DC the more confused the poor dog would get !

 

[srad]

+1. A dog's sense of smell is about 1000 times greater than ours .. so you just have to teach them which smells you're interested in, and they'll gladly do so for praise and a biscuit.

Read "Inside of a Dog" not too long ago... GREAT book if you have a pooch (http://books.google.com/books?id=pqJRCIXAFSgC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false)

The part of a dog's brain that controls smell is about 40 times larger than in humans. A dog’s sense of smell is about 1,000 to 10 million times more sensitive than a human’s, depending on the breed. A human has about 5 million scent glands, compared to a dog, who has anywhere from 125 million to 300 million, depending on the breed.

And yes, they'll do about anything for praise & a biscuit.

 

[terrehautian]

The tv show "Alpha Dogs" which revolves around a working dog training facility here in indiana, just has an episode where they are training dogs to sniff out cell phones in a prison setting.

I believe this is the same dog in the new news story. My station did a story on the show "Alpha Dogs" a few months ago. The guy who is the main guy in the show is a former THPD K9 officer and pretty sure he started the K9 program.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Dogs have to be trained. They are rewarded and taught that it is somewhat of a game. They get rewarded and praise for finding what they are trained to find. To them it's nothing more then a game of hide and seek.

Kirk is referring to cases he has handled where the police have claimed that their dogs which have never been trained to do so can smell contraband pills.

 

[IndyBeerman]

Wouldn't it be better to have a cell phone jammer installed, there are units that have limited range that would not interfere with cell phones outside of the jail block area.

Better than having to do a sweep throughout the jail.

 

[dross]

"He detected cell phone residue"