Australian Federal Police hiring digital evidence retrieval specialists: Being a very good boy and paws required

Australia's Federal Police (AFP) is getting more help from some very good boys with four paws, wagging tails, and the ability to sniff out tech equipment with their highly sensitive noses. Not just dogs, technology detection dogs. The AFP have had three on the force since 2019 and yesterday said on Facebook they plan to add …

[Chris G]

Bears

Have up to 100 times more sniffing capacity than dogs, why don't the police try training bears for this work.

Just imagine what they might find.

Australia could train the indigenous Drop bears who could not only only search out contraband but also terrify perps into submission.

[TeeCee]

Re: Bears

Yes, but a dog will crap in a box whereas the requirement to have a large forest readily to hand at all times makes bears a problem.

[Korev]

Re: Bears

What if they got distracted by honey - it wouldn't bear thinking about...

[lglethal]

Re: Bears

It would certainly give you paws for thought.

[Korev]

Re: Bears

You'd need a get out claws in the contract

[Blazde]

Re: Bears

Unnecessary. Just play dead, they'll leave eventually and won't claim for wrongful dismissal.

(Also standard practice if they demand torpor pay).

[Ken Moorhouse]

Re: Bears

Polar Bears would be more effective for finding things with magnetic materials in them.

(They don't need the obligatory nearby forest either).

[Korev]

So if the crim has a lot of cards would that be a Sim City?

[Wyrdness]

Man's best friend?

They say that dogs are man's best friend, but cats won't grass you up to the feds.

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: Man's best friend?

But cats will keep your data away from police dogs.

[Jamesit]

"Unable to connect

Firefox can’t establish a connection to the server at www.facebook.com.

The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.

If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer’s network connection.

If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web."

I'm glad I have Faceborg in my HOSTS file.

[Eclectic Man]

Ice cream distraction

Once, at Paddington Station in London, I observed some uniformed police officers with their sniffer dogs (King Charles Spaniels). They ignored me completely (much like everyone else come to think of it ...). Anyway, one person who was not being ignored was the man eating a chocolate ice-cream. He, or rather the ice cream, had the undivided attention of one of the sniffer dogs. So if you want to divert attention away from your hidden SIMs and other electronics, just drop a load of chocolate ice cream nearby.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Ice cream distraction

Well, it could be that what you thought was simply chocolate ice cream was laced with something more exotic...

However, I recall reading somewhere that the biggest deterrent to crime is the fear of getting caught, so while law enforcement would doubtless like us to believe dogs are infallible, the major effect is probably to discourage people from trying to get whatever it is past the checks.

[Dog Eatdog]

Re: Ice cream distraction

A dog sniffed out a contraband apple in my bag at Perth Airport, Western Australia.

As a result I got my baggage taken apart in a search for drugs. Spot the logic.

[Allan George Dyer]

Re: Ice cream distraction

@Dog Eatdog - The logic, I would suggest, is that you are unlikely to ever forget to dispose of fruit and other invasive-species-harbouring items before entering Australia again.

[Juan Inamillion]

Re: Ice cream distraction

Just so you know, chocolate can be fatal for a dog, along with avocados, xylitol (sweetener in candy, gum, toothpaste and some baked goods), caffeine, grapes, raisins and alcohol.

[Dave 144]

We've got these in the UK already.

Digital Media dogs have been used by UK police forces for the last couple of years at least.

[Chris G]

Digital Media dogs

A rather harsh way to describe Tik tok.

[DJO]

I've aways wondered...

If canines have such magnificent noses, why do they have to get so close to other dogs bums to smell them?

[WolfFan]

Re: I've aways wondered...

That’s the canine equivalent of social media.

[WolfFan]

Hmm. The Oz Federales currently have as many sniffer dogs as Hampshire County, West Virginia, Sheriff’s Office does. Hampshire County has a population of around 20,000. The Sheriff’s Office has about three dozen deputies, including the three dogs. It’s possible that Oz needs to wake up a bit.

[Chris G]

It's possible Hampshire county is a bit over the top or perhaps Oz is more law abidng.

[Kent_Brockman]

Sniffer Dogs

I think your missing the bit - there are 3 usb dogs.

The entire AFP has a whole raft of sniffer dogs including:

Firearms and explosive detection dogs

Currency and drug detection dogs

General purpose dogs

Tactical dogs

https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/operational-support/afp-national-canine-capability

and then there is the whole state police dog teams

I think we do ok.

[Anonymous Coward]

I didn't know there was a Hampshire in the new world and I had to look it up. A number of reasons for the discrepancy may exist. It might be that Hampshire County is not surrounded by an ocean and people can enter or exit without using a port or airport., giving a larger threat perimeter It might be that there are more criminals there than Australia (though genetics is against that) or the law enforcement more authoritarian. I suppose the Sheriff there may really like dogs. Whyever it might be, from years of using the internet I know Australia doesn't need to wake up at the same time as the rest of us.

[Winkypop]

Got ya!

But if you rub my belly I could sniff the other way….

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Got ya!

Throw me a bone here.

[the Jim bloke]

So Peter Dutton had a corona-puppy

and needs to find a place to dump it now the novelty has worn off?

hopefully they will be less incompetent than all his cronies he stacked the immigration department with, because his tactic there was to criminalise anything that required them to make an effort or know their job.

[Ken Moorhouse]

The dog didn't find it first time round

The savvy dog will go with the flow, only getting excited when taken back somewhere it has sniffed at before.

[CJ Hinke]

Hey, 'contraband'?!? It's criminal that govts deny prisoners Internet access & mobile phone contact with their families & communities.