About the NYPD Canine Unit
One of the most iconic images that are associated with police work is canine units. Canine units are police units where dogs are used to conduct searches or anything that human beings do not have the capability for. As you may know, dogs have an excellent sense of smell, which means utilizing this skill makes it easier for police officers to locate drugs, missing persons, or patrol areas for security reasons. If you are interested in joining the NYPD canine unit, Disqualification Appeals New York is here to paint a clearer picture. Continue reading below for more information from our NYPD disqualification appeal lawyer.
What Is a Police Dog?
A police dog is a dog that is specially trained to assist police officers and other law enforcement officers. Police dogs are extremely well trained, and handlers have to undergo some special training to learn how to work with these animals. The NYPD’s canine unit is among the best in the United States.
What Breeds Are Police Dogs?
The most important part of being part of a canine unit is understanding what breeds of dogs you will be working with. Most police departments use German shepherds, but there are other breeds that are commonly used by police officers and departments. These include Dobermanns, beagles, labrador retrievers, boxers, bloodhounds, and rottweilers. In the New York City Police Department, the most popular police canine breeds are German shepherds, but labrador mixes and Belgian shepherds are relatively common as well.
How to Become a K9 Officer
To become a K9 officer, police officers need to go above and beyond in their capacities as police officers while also having certain skills in animal handling. To be considered for membership in the K9 unit, K9 officers need the following skills:
- Animal Handling – K9 officers regularly interact with dogs, so it is important that officers spend plenty of time with their animals so that they know how to control them, as an out-of-control dog could lead to many negative consequences.
- Investigation – While police dogs help out with investigations, they cannot be expected to do all of the investigative work. It is up to the police canine handler to interpret that investigation. They also secure scenes, collect evidence, and analyze it.
- Interpersonal Skills – Interpersonal skills are important for K9 handlers because they often need to interact with people when they visit schools, parades, airports, or other events. NYPD officers need to be professional at all times.
- Communication – K9 officers need to learn how to communicate with the rest of their team because the rest of the team may not know what the dog is signaling to other officers.
- Physical Fitness – Like all members of law enforcement, physical fitness is a key consideration for both the handler and the dog. Police officers need to regularly exercise with their dogs so that they both meet the fitness standards that come with the job.
More About Disqualification Appeals
We are a legal service that is dedicated to helping candidates that have been served with NYPD disqualifications achieve their goals of becoming NYPD police officers. Our legal service helps our customers with the following services:
- NYPD medical disqualifications
- NYPD psychological disqualifications
- NYPD character disqualifications
Contact us today to learn more about how you can fight your NYPD proposed disqualification and the process of appealing a psychological disqualification.