Belgian Malinois dogs add teeth to criminal investigation

Bhubaneswar: Induction of Belgian Malinois dogs in the K9 squad of Odisha Police last year has added teeth to crime investigation, cops have asserted. Police said the performance of Belgian Malinois dogs is being assessed.
“We have been receiving positive feedback from districts about the performance of Belgian Malinois dogs. Since they were inducted for the first time in Odisha Police last year, we will wait for some more months to properly evaluate their ability,” inspector general of police (crime branch) Amitendra Nath Sinha said.
Altogether 23 trained Belgian Malinois dogs were purchased from Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) last year, police sources said.The dogs, aged about 4 to 5 years, have been trained in tracking explosives, narcotics and crime scene evidence.
Apart from the 23 Belgian Malinois dogs, the state police have 12 German Shepherds, 9 Labradors and 1 Doberman and Golden Retriever each. Police said the Belgian Malinois breed are widely used by military and police forces in various countries. The Belgian Malinois breed shot to international fame after tracing Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011 and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria in 2019.
“The Belgian Malinois is an excellent breed. This breed of dogs is very intelligent and have the ability to efficiently carry out various policing tasks, mostly tracking crime scene evidence. They are well-muscled with excellent scent tracking skills and aggression,” Sinha said.
According to the police, Belgian Malinois dogs are already being deployed in the army and central armed police forces in the country. The dogs have also been deployed at some airports and metro stations in the country. “Belgian Malinois dogs are agile and effective in dealing with crisis situations. Unlike the bulky tracker and sniffer dogs, the Belgian Malinois don’t get tired easily. They are capable of running up to 30km without break. They have an extraordinary skill of quickly detecting human presence, explosives and drugs. Their biggest strength is smelling capacity and olfactory organs,” said Nigamananda Baral, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), K9 headquarters at the crime branch in Cuttack.
Police said steps are being regularly taken to ensure that the handlers of the dogs become the best and trusted companions of the canines. Eight police personnel have been undergoing training on how to handle the Belgian Malinois at the SSB’s dog breeding and training centre at Alwar in Rajasthan.
“We make the dogs exercise two hours in the morning and one hour in the evening daily. The handlers give the dogs different types of tasks to hone their tracking skills. We have also been imparting obedience lessons to the dogs so that they stay disciplined and focussed. The Belgian Malinois dogs are quick learners,” Baral said.
Each dog is fed 250 grams of rice, 500 g of goat meat, 100 g of vegetables and 5 g of turmeric during the day.
The evening diet includes 500 ml milk, chapati made from 250 g of wheat and one boiled egg.
There were instances of police dogs having accorded dignified burial upon their deaths in some districts. Nabarangpur police gave a tracker dog a guard of honour following her death at the age of 13 in July 2020.
“We used to auction the unfit dogs. However, the practice was discontinued in the last few years as we decided to take care of the retired dogs as well. We apprehended trained dogs that may be misused, if sold to people. The animals may be ill-treated as well. So, the retired or ageing dogs are being allowed to stay in the kennel till their normal death,” another police officer said.