ABSTRACT
Developing from their use in the U.S. military and in drug detection, police use of dogs to aid in their work is increasingly common. Actually, the use of dogs in policing is almost older than policing itself. The Egyptians used dogs in guarding and policing the pyramids before there was any formalized police force. Currently, dogs are employed for a variety of uses in policing, including bomb detection, border/customs searches, drug detection, and as “second officers” on patrol. The aspect of the use of dogs in police work that is most likely to come to the attention of the courts is their use in searches. The first true test of the use of a dog as a search mechanism was heard in United States v. Place. In this case, the Court ruled that the sniff of a dog is not a search within the Fourth Amendment. This case, together with the effectiveness of drug detection dogs, has led to their widespread use in policing. The use of dogs does, however, have attendant issues, as police officers use dogs in a variety of ways. An increasing number of cases related to the use of dogs in policing are reaching the Supreme Court. This chapter covers those cases, and provides context for officers in how they can use dogs legally to further their work.
