THE POLICE DOG.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 954, 14 February 1911, Page 4

THE POLICE DOG.

Perhaps Major E. H. Richardson has had wider experience than any other man in the British Isles of the value of dogs in warfare and for the detection of crime. Their utility has been for many years his special study, and in a book, published by Messrs Blackwood and Sons, “ War, Police and Watch Dogs,” he gives the result of his practical investigation of the subject. The Continental police officials have devoted much attention to the use ot dogs, notably in Ghent, where 69 animals are doing duty, and in Germany, where the opinion of the police is that not only have the police dogs decreased crime, but their presence has a strong moral effect, and bad characters avoid towns where police dogs are kept. In such towns, indeed, petty theft has in many cases almost disappeared, and a greater sense of security is given to the inhabitants. The German police officials also are making a careful study of the utility of dogs. The municipal authorities of Berlin voted a sum ot/1350 m February last for increasing the dog-training establishment of that city. Over 600 towns in Germany, at present, use these dogs, and Major Richardson says that in the large cities crime has fallen on an average 35 per cent, since their introduction.

The police in England have not yet shown much desire to fall into line with the Continental nations. A start has, however, been made by the Berkshire Constabulary, who are using one dog on night duty at Windsor, where he has given great satisfaction. The major corrects one wrong impression of the capabilities of dogs in criminal tracking. He says: “ If the dog is brought to the scene soon enough after the crime is committed, he has certainly tracked down criminals when all other means had failed. The wild tales, however, of criminals being tracked days after the crime was committed, or through crowded streets, may be styled unvarnished lies.”

The same qualities in the dogs which are useiul to the policeman have been adapted to the needs of soldiers in time of battle. Dogs were used to great extent in the recent trouble between AustriaHungary and Turkey. In the evening, says Major Richardson, after the wounded had been collected, moans were heard from the rocks, but it was only by the aid of dogs attached to the regiment that the injured who had been overlooked were found. The major’s book is more than a history of the utility of dogs for official purposes; it is a plea for

The major’s book is more than a history of the utility of dogs for official purposes; it is a plea for their increased use in this country, and will be widely read. It contains some admirable illustrations.