Explosives Detection Dogs E
xplosives detection dog (EDD) capability can be a valuable part of the security mix to protect a wide range of sites, premises and events. A specialist from the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), the UK’s technical authority on protective security, outlines how this can be implemented.
As with all security measures, it is essential to ensure effective specification, implementation and assurance of EDD capability. Assuring detection dog capability is complicated, and to that end NPSA has worked with the Home Office and National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) to establish the National Canine Training and Accreditation Scheme – Private Security Industry (NCTAS-P).
If you use explosives detection dogs as part of the security mix at your site, premises or event, can you afford not to use teams that are NCTAS-P accredited?
Why dogs?
Not just a human’s best friend, but also a very useful one: dogs are renowned for having a phenomenal sense of smell and have long been recognised as offering a highly sensitive capability to detect odours across security applications and beyond.
Dogs can be very versatile. Not only can they be trained to detect a wide variety of odours of interest, but they can also be trained quickly on new ones. They can be trained to search effectively in different scenarios and environments as well. And unlike many security technologies, they can quickly and easily be transported from one deployment to another.
For many people, a security dog will be a reassuring presence, whilst also being a powerful deterrent to those with malign intent (a geared effect, as it may not be obvious what the dog is trained to detect).
Detractors may point to potential challenges with the effective use of detection dogs. In practice, comparable challenges typically apply to the use of detection and other security technologies, not least as deployment of both dogs and technologies involves humans as handlers
or operators. The key here is to understand the limitations and challenges in each case and manage them accordingly.
The explosives threat involves a range of materials with very different odours and emitting very different levels of odour. Therefore, explosives detection dogs must be trained on a carefully curated selection of materials, quantities and concealments.
Given that many explosives have very low- level odours, there is a risk that needs carefully managing, i.e. dogs may inadvertently be trained on odours associated with packaging, storage or handling. There is guidance on this and many other aspects of optimising detection dog training and operational capability.
Not unlike humans, our canine friends can get tired, may be under the weather, or may feel like gaming the system. And like us, they are reward-motivated (typically, play with a tennis ball!). So how can they maximise play for minimum effort? Well, this is where the handler has a crucial part to play, from tasking and monitoring the dog as it searches, through to ensuring it has the right rest breaks when needed.
Key to this is the handler really understanding their dog and being able to spot, read and act on subtle cues in its behaviour. It is therefore important that a dog is always worked by the same handler.
But there are other more subtle considerations. With explosives threats fortunately a rare occurrence in the UK, an explosives detection dog will regularly find trained odours during training sessions but may never find one for real. Evidence from scientific studies shows that if the dog can distinguish between the training and operational environments (potential cues could include location, handler behaviours, or presence of an instructor), their search and detection effectiveness can decrease in the operational environment. With that in mind, there is a variety of effective mitigations.
Explosives detection dog teams have long been an important part of counter- terrorism policing and wider law enforcement capability in the UK. But there are also many potential private sector applications spanning protection of sites, premises and events.
9 © CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – SPRING 2025
www.citysecuritymagazine.com
An important part of NPSA’s remit as the national technical authority for protective security is to ensure that a palette of proportionate and effective protective security measures is available to those responsible for security of sites, premises and events.
London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics – a case study
NPSA (in its previous incarnation as Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, or CPNI) was heavily involved in advising government and private sector stakeholders on protective security for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
Whilst the Games spanned a few weeks, the security effort spanned the many years over which planning, site construction and other preparations took place. A key risk that needed mitigating was the potential for a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) setting back Olympic Park construction.
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