Search Dog Training Day

Every day's a school day at PWRS, and a chance to help out.

Next time your train is cancelled due to a signalling problem, spare a thought for Network Rail. It may not be their fault.

Copper Theft

Criminals target expensive copper used on the network in the cables for the signalling. The train system grinds to a halt for you and me and the copper is cashed in at metal scrap yards, lining the pockets of the criminals.

Network Rail are hitting back by treating their cables with a forensic marker with a DNA code manufactured by SelectaDNA™.

Mick Swindells of Search Dogs UK had a task in hand, being local and knowing of the PWRS he asked if he could use us for some training he had scheduled.

This was at late notice due to another venue being unavailable and we were happy to help. A few conversations later and a quick recce of Burn Naze and NPL with Geoff Ogden and the answer was a yes thank you from Mick and a yes please from the PWRS.

We can't resist helping people if we can and we were quite nosey as to what would be happening too!

So began the school day.

Forensic Markers

The SelectaDNA forensic markers (which can be grease spray, gel, etc.) contain DNA codes, each one robustly unique, accredited and acceptable for use within laboratory police and law court environments in the same way as naturally occurring DNA would be.

Marked items are made traceable (in this case the copper) so therefore it is of little value as stolen goods and can also be easily legally recovered.

But these markers have to be searched for and found.

Search Dogs UK

Mick set up his business, Search Dogs UK training search dogs, after retiring from the police.

Having an in-depth knowledge of training search dogs and a full understanding of the added value they bring to a police search helped provide the motivation in proving the concept of a dog being able to trace the forensic markers manufactured by SelectaDNA.

Since the success of his partnership with SelectaDNA, a number of Police Forces have used Mick's search dogs to successfully find and recover stolen goods and prosecute offenders.

Mick will soon be retiring and has chosen to hand over to Bev Pritchard and her dog Leiki. Both Mick and Bev have experience in training dogs for forensic search, so it's a good skills match.

On Site at NPL

The PWRS sites were thought to be an ideal opportunity for Bev and Leiki to receive training and support from Mick whilst surrounded by many of the sight, smell and sound distractions to be found in a live work environment.

All of the volunteers at the NPL site found their activity a welcome distraction, too.

Leiki is a relatively new search dog but has come a long way since his initial rescue, 2 years ago, in terms of socialisation, and is a credit to Bev's persistence and skill.

For a human, the process of identifying a marker is only by line of sight, as a UV torch has to react to and be observed by the human eye. Once a dog has been trained it can smell around corners and underneath things and with far greater accuracy with smaller amounts of the marker present.

It's a win for the police, Network Rail and the dogs who enjoy the focus and reward of the work.

Mick showed us the marking kit, which he uses for training the dogs, and explained how it can be supplied in different forms depending on the item to be marked.

Burn Naze Station and our NPL workshops were used as a training ground for hiding short lengths of copper pipes treated with the grease marker.

The operator hiding the pipe was absent from the search so that no body language would give away the hiding place. The dogs were then put through their paces to seek and positively identify the marked objects.

The Dogs go to Work

Fascinating to watch, the training involves lots of positive reinforcement and with each successful search a massive amount of praise.

Mick explained the trick is to get the dog to run and fetch a ball which they all love to do. Then the ball is treated with the marker, thrown and retrieved. The dog now associates the smell with the ball. The ball is then hidden and the dog told to fetch it, which it soon discovers with its highly sensitive nose.

Finally copper pipe is marked and hidden and the handler tricks the dog by pretending to hide the ball, but in reality putting it in their pocket. When told to seek the dog detects the marked object expecting to see the ball which appears suddenly over its head by an accurate throw from the handler.

Once the marker is found, it can then be sampled and tested to identify the specific code it contains which will then be matched back to the original owner via the SelectaDNA database.

At the end of day two, the dogs got a pat, their handlers got a handshake and the PWRS got insights into forensic property marking and search dog training methods.

Oh, and having felt we rescued the day we were also gifted a handful of our very own markers and warning signage too, courtesy of our guests, Mick and Bev.

Now to get on with marking up our own treasures.

More Information

You can learn more about Search Dogs UK and SelectaDNA on their respective websites:

• www.searchdogsuk.co.uk
• www.selectadna.co.uk