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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction: A Prison Dog Handlers Unit was opened only 2 years ago in Lithuania. Service dogs are trained to find drugs and psychotropic substances in prisons. Since 2017 service dogs are trained to capture offenders. Seeking to develop the activities of the Unit we would appreciate the international experience.
Our dogs are trained to search many different types of substances and we generally find the following; NPS (SPICE) commercial samples and AKB48 (3rd generation of synthetic cannabinoid)., Amphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, Cannabis Herbal and Resin, Bruphemorphine (contains Subutex and Temgesic).
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?HMPPS dogs specialise in a variety of areas such as; Patrol Dogs Tornado Support Dogs Armed and Explosive Search Dogs Active Drug Detection Dogs Passive Drug Detection Dogs Mobile Phone Detection Dogs Illicit Brewed Alcohol Detection Dogs Missing Person Search Dog
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)We use all above drugs mentioned in question 1, from half a gram to 5 grams. We split these packages up and are changed every 12-months. For AES we use live peroxides, TATP, HMTD and HP. We also use ammunition and parts of firearms. For mobile phones dogs are trained to detect a discharged battery, a charged battery, a carcass, a mobile phone turned on/off and a SIM card. Illicit brewed alcohol we use fermenting liquids and/or distilled substances
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?For Patrol Dogs we use German Shepherds, Belgian Malinous and Dutch Herders crossed with German Shepherds & Belgian Malinous. For Passive search dogs (People Searching) we use Labradors, Tall Springer Spaniels, German Short Haired Pointers. Active Dogs (area search) and AES dogs, we use Springers, Cocker Spaniels, Sprockers and Labradors.
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?For Patrol dogs we deliver an 8 week course For Armed and Explosives Dogs we deliver an 8-week course For Passive Search Dogs we deliver a 6-week course For Active Search Dogs we deliver a 4-week course Dogs that require additional training to meet the standards can have up to an additional 10-days training provided.
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?We have over 360 Dog Handlers within HMPPS. There are over 500 dogs in the service covering a variety of different disciplines.
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)We procure our dogs from approved breeders, from other agencies (police etc) and from members of the public.
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Most commonly discovered drugs and/ or psychotropic substances in our prisons are cocaine, heroin, marihuana, hashish, sleeping pills and sedatives, synthetic drugs. Misuse of substitute therapy (suboxone, methadone) is also common.
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?We are training service dogs for specialized use (search of forbidden substances and objects) and for general purposes (guardianship of objects, defence, assistance at transfer of prisoners and for tracking persons). There is one service dog specialized for searching mobile phones, internet modems and Wi-Fi components.
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)For training of service dog we use real drugs and psychotropic substances. We change them if needed, as a rule every three to four years.
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?Most common breeds of service dogs working in our prisons are German and Belgian Shepheard, Labrador and hunting breeds (German pointer, German shorthaired pointer).
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?If a service dog is whelped in the prison than training last from one year and a half to three years. If bought from a breeder training last as long, but we get older generation of basically trained dogs; dogs are two years old when bought and when adding training period they are older than four years. However we generally buy offspring dogs and breed them.
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?We are currently employing seven handlers of service dogs.
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)We breed them ourselves, we purchase them from breeders, from police, army and from handlers of service dogs (if dogs are home trained). All necessary tests are made before the purchase. Until now we haven’t use auctions yet.
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This content is only available to registered members of EuroPris.
cannabis, THC, amphetamine, crystal
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?The dogs are trained as passive drug detection dogs. They are conditioned on finding: hash, marihuana, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine (crystal, ecstasy), subutex
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)Dog handlers use narcotics from the State Office of Criminal Investigation. They are replaced once a year.
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?German Shepherd
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?basic training: 2x 5 weeks; advanced training course once a year: 2 weeks; exam training unit: 2 weeks
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?two
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)obtain from a breeder
Cannabis and Crystal-Meth.
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?The dogs are trained for passive indication behavior. They sit in front of the place where they smell drugs. The dogs are educated and trained for drug search in rooms, vehicles and objects. They can, for example, detect hallucinogens, opiates, amphetamines, cannabinoids and cocaine.
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)Real drugs are used during the dog training.
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?Belgian Shepherd Dogs.
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?About three months.
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?Six of the 10 prisons in Saxony are equipped with a Service dog. Normally there is just one dog for one prison.
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)We get the Service Dogs from the police. The Police breed their own Dogs but buy Dogs from breeders as well.
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This content is only available to registered members of EuroPris.
In the prison system of the Republic of Croatia, psychoactive substances are most often found to be part of a medical treatment in the treatment of addicted prisoners.
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?The Directorate for the Prison System of the Republic of Croatia does not have its own service dogs trained for the detection of narcotics but for this purpose uses service dogs of the Ministry of the Interior.
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)Training of service dogs for the detection of narcotics used in prisons is carried out within the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia.
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?The Directorate for the Prison System of the Republic of Croatia uses dog breed called „šarplaninac“ (Yugoslavian Herder).
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?Service dogs are trained at least one year before the beggining of their prison service.
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?Directorate for Prison System of Republic of Croatia has a total of 6 (six) service dogs guides.
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)Service dogs come from their own breeding.
This information is for internal use
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?Mainly finding drugs
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)This information is for internal use
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?German Shepherds Swiss Shepherd Dog Spaniel
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?We obtain puppies from breeders when dogs are two or three months old. Basic training for dog lasts about 1,5 years.
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?We have 10 dog handlers for 3 prison
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)We obtain dogs always from a breeder.
Cannabis, Amphetamine and Benzedrine.
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?They detect all kinds of drugs.
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)We use real drugs. When training new dogs, the drugs are changed approximately twice a year. When used to maintain the skills of trained dogs, the drugs are changed approximately once a year.
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?English Springer Spaniel and Labrador Retriever
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?2 years
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?Our Canine Unite consists of 14 dogs, each with a designated handler (five equipages in Eastern Region, two in Southern Region, two in South-Western Region, two in Western Region and two in Northern Region).
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)Both the procurement and the training of dogs are done in cooperation with the police. The Correctional Service owns the dogs. In some instances, we purchase fully trained dogs. The dog and the designated handler then follow a program designed by The Norwegian Police University College in order to be approved as an equipage. In other instances, we obtain young dogs and train them ourselves, in cooperation with The Norwegian Police University College. The Correctional Service and the Norwegian Police University College have a close cooperation in regard to training, re-approval and test of new dogs. The Correctional Service has a designated dog-instructor who works closely with The Norwegian Police University College.
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Subutex (a brand name for buprenorphine) is the most common. 2nd amphetamine, 3rd hashish, 4th designer drugs, 5th benzodiazepines / other pharmaceuticals.
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?Dogs are trained to find drugs and arms, to track persons, and to find items.
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)Dog-handlers use real drugs for training. Drugs are changed max once a year. Dog-handlers also train a lot with the substances the other handlers have.
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?16 Labrador retrievers, 3 Border Collies and single dogs of other breeds.
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?Training starts as a puppy and takes about 1.5 years.
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?1-2 dog-handlers per prison. Each of the three Criminal Sanctions Regions has about 6-7 dog-handlers. Altogether 21 dog-handlers with a dog in the whole country.
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)Dogs are bought directly from breeders. Puppies are selected after a test done at the age of about 6 weeks.
In Italian prisons, various types of substances are discovered through the canine units and thanks to the action of the Penitentiary Police staff: from the so-called “light” substances (marijuana, hashish) to the hard ones (cocaine, heroin). For some time now, we have found Subotex tablets, while the amount of ecstasy is very poor. The substances are found on the persons entering prisons to visit inmates as well as in parcels either brought by them or sent by mail.
What are the specializations of the service dogs (finding drugs, psychotropic substances, etc.) working at prisons of your country?Currently, the specialization of the canine units of the Penitentiary Police Corps is only the anti-drug activity.
What substances do you use for service dog training (if real drugs and/ or psychotropic substances are used, how often do you change them?)For dog training, we mainly use the most common substances: heroin, hashish, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, amphetamines, which, subject to availability of the Central Directorate Anti-drug Service, are changed every 4 years, because of both the loss of smell of the substance and the introduction of new substances on the illegal market.
What are the most common breeds of service dogs for working at prisons?Since the establishment of the canine service, the Penitentiary Police Corps has used the German Shepherd and the Belgian Melinois Shepherd. During the time, other races were introduced, and namely the Golden Retriever, the Labrador, and then Rottweiler, Corso, Dobermann, Boxer, American Bulldog, Pitbull, until the recent choice to use mixed-breed dogs.
How long does it take to train a service dog (from its obtaining till starting service at prison)?At our Training Center, after the dogs are acquired, they undergo attitude tests as for the technical and behavioral aspects and as for the aspect of socialization; subsequently, they undergo medical examination for a general health assessment. Once said phase is over, the dogs start a training course during about 6 months; during this period, the dogs are taught to search for substances on vehicles, on shelves, in luggage, in open fields, in conveyor belts and on persons (in open order, in single file, moving and sitting).
How many dog handlers are usually employed at a prison in your country?The Canine Service of the Penitentiary Police does not foresee a number of dogs per prison, but a number of dogs per regional Directorate. The dogs are then sent, on a sample basis, to make checks in the prisons, on the basis of the Governors’ requests or upon orders of the Regional Director of the Penitentiary Administration.
Where do you acquire the service dogs from? (Do you breed them, obtain from a breeder, purchase at the auctions, etc.?)Anti-drug dogs were bought, at the beginning, at well-known Italian breeders. Then a cheaper project was started, enabling the Penitentiary Administration to take abandoned dogs from kennels. That choice brought to an excellent quality of the work of canine units.