Thread: Stray Police Dog?

To answer the questions about a young police dog after having trained a few:

They aren't really "fully trained" until they are mentally mature at about three years old, any time before that they are still a young dog. Even after complete training they require maintenance training on the order of several hours a week. While they can work the streets younger and do a good job this is when they mature.

As far as one being found wandering loose, I would suspect that it could be more likely than your average dog given the same circumstances. This is part of the reason you have to be so careful to secure them well. Its not that they would be any greater danger to the public (They should be confident and comfortable in strange situations to even be considered for a K9 program) but they are a greater danger to themselves. They tend to be fearless, fast, and have good problem solving abilities as well as be tenaciously curious. They are good at escaping enclosures and would then go wherever their curiosity takes them, and may not respect as dangerous situations that would frighten a normal dog.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I don't get it (the idea of election law enforcement officers is foreign to me).
The police are never directly answerable to the public. Why should it be otherwise?
They are an executive branch of the government, answerable to the legal arm of the government.

I suppose you could make an argument that such a police force is less likely to think about what the public thinks of him. But otoh then you get the same problems associated with regular politics: influencing voters, bribes, lies, ... everything that Obama and McCain are criticized for. It would be a popularity contest.

In your case, the county police would have to be answerable to the state police, who'd be answerable to the legal branch of state government (however it is organized in detail).
Doesn't it work like that?

Sorry for the

Not at all.

The county and state police are completely separate entities responsible for different things. The county is responsible for more local laws generally keeping the peace while the state only cares for the main roads and larger organized criminal efforts unless contracted by the counties or communities to provide local enforcement or special services (SWAT, K9, labs, investigative etc.).

The Sheriff is always an elected official owing his job to the people, while the undersheriff who handles the more mundane administrative work is usually a career officer chosen by the sheriff. That way the Sheriff and local law enforcement is independent of the tides of local government and not beholden to the council or county administrator, that way they are free to investigate the government itself if needed. The police should ALWAYS be answerable to the public, they should never be under the direct control of anyone not elected by the people. This keeps them working for the welfare of the people not as a private armed force of some official.

The majority of law enforcement in the US is handled on a county by county basis, with only a little handled at the state level and properly even less at the federal level.

In general a good thing to remember about the US is that every government is independent of every other. While the county is below the state level there is no connection, or direction from one to the other, except where the state passes laws that effect they way counties can do business the same way they pass laws that effect how I do business. Its not like a big "Governmental corporation" With the federal office directing the state offices directing local operations, they really are separate entities.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

The majority of law enforcement in the US is handled on a county by county basis, with only a little handled at the state level and properly even less at the federal level.

Actually, most law enforcement is handled at the city level simply because most Americans live in cities. For example, in Chicago, which occupies all of Cook Country, the sheriffs department does little more than deliver summons. In the collar counties, Lake, Will, etc., the sheriff only provides law enforcement in unincorporated areas, which by definition, contain relatively few people.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

To answer the questions about a young police dog after having trained a few:

They aren't really "fully trained" until they are mentally mature at about three years old, any time before that they are still a young dog. Even after complete training they require maintenance training on the order of several hours a week. While they can work the streets younger and do a good job this is when they mature.

As far as one being found wandering loose, I would suspect that it could be more likely than your average dog given the same circumstances. This is part of the reason you have to be so careful to secure them well. Its not that they would be any greater danger to the public (They should be confident and comfortable in strange situations to even be considered for a K9 program) but they are a greater danger to themselves. They tend to be fearless, fast, and have good problem solving abilities as well as be tenaciously curious. They are good at escaping enclosures and would then go wherever their curiosity takes them, and may not respect as dangerous situations that would frighten a normal dog.

The dog showed no particular aggression that I could see, but he did seem pretty independent. Didn't want to be confined pending arrival of his owner, but didn't put up too much of a stink, either. He just didn't want to come in out of the road.

He might have been three, but might have been a bit younger. He had that long, rangy, young-German-shepherd look about him, if you know what I mean, as though he'd just grown into his paws and was waiting for his body to catch up.

j

Just a minor clarification: th epolice is always answerable to the public and accountable for everything they do.
There is a national equivalent of the US police Internal Affairs that acts as a watchdog over the police.
They investigate complaints, perform routine personnel checks etc...

The difference I meant is that we have no elections of any government officials.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

As far as one being found wandering loose, I would suspect that it could be more likely than your average dog given the same circumstances. This is part of the reason you have to be so careful to secure them well. Its not that they would be any greater danger to the public (They should be confident and comfortable in strange situations to even be considered for a K9 program) but they are a greater danger to themselves. They tend to be fearless, fast, and have good problem solving abilities as well as be tenaciously curious. They are good at escaping enclosures and would then go wherever their curiosity takes them, and may not respect as dangerous situations that would frighten a normal dog.

My friend was a Cleveland detective. He had a wonderful story about a kid taunting a K9 officer that was inside a closed car, and he was working the dog into a frenzy. My friend came along and opened the car door, knowing the dog wouldn't leave the car. He said the dogs are super trained not to exit the vehicle unless commanded to.

Originally Posted by Chimensch

Actually, most law enforcement is handled at the city level simply because most Americans live in cities. For example, in Chicago, which occupies all of Cook Country, the sheriffs department does little more than deliver summons. In the collar counties, Lake, Will, etc., the sheriff only provides law enforcement in unincorporated areas, which by definition, contain relatively few people.

Interesting, I forgot about the cities, around here the county seems to do the most since the cities jurisdiction ends at the city limits even though most of the people seem to live in the burbs which may or may not be incorporated and may or may not have their own police force. For instance no one around here lets Detroit city police out of the city, They prefer it if the county forces and their own elected sheriffs deal with any crime that leaks out from town. Ann Arbor where I live used to have jurisdictional disputes all the time with the university (located in town but its own entity) to the point where the easiest way to beat a ticket was to enter university property where the city cops couldn't legally pursue without permission they were unlikely to get. Thats gotten better lately but it could still be an issue and with the actually city limits containing only half the residents of this county the sheriff has a lot of area and people to take care of.

Originally Posted by ScottS

My friend was a Cleveland detective. He had a wonderful story about a kid taunting a K9 officer that was inside a closed car, and he was working the dog into a frenzy. My friend came along and opened the car door, knowing the dog wouldn't leave the car. He said the dogs are super trained not to exit the vehicle unless commanded to.

I wouldn't risk it unless I knew where to hid the body, of course he could have saved the city some dog chow, and the kid probably wouldn't have been missed. Should have at least arrested the kid for being belligerent to a police officer.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

I wouldn't risk it unless I knew where to hid the body, of course he could have saved the city some dog chow, and the kid probably wouldn't have been missed. Should have at least arrested the kid for being belligerent to a police officer.

Actually, I left out the best part of the story cause it sounds a bit like torture, and some of it sounded a bit exaggerated. The way he told it, he saw the kid teasing the dog, he came in with his own car, using his front bumper to pin the kid in place on the K9 car, THEN he opened the dog's door. If that's true, that kid won't be teasing any more police dogs.