UAE: From drug busts to rescues, how police dogs in Ras Al Khaimah succeeding in 3,457 operations

Ras Al Khaimah Police K9 carry out6-1676718287101 — The dogs' sense of smell is 50 times sharper than ours, enabling them to sniff out wanted persons and items Image Credit: Supplied

Ras Al Khaimah: Dogs from the Ras Al Khaimah Police Canine Division (K-9) were involved in 3,457 police operations in 2022.

Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Muhammad Abdullah, Head of the K9 Security Inspection Department at the General Department of Police Operations at Ras Al Khaimah Police, said the police dogs succeeded in the missions last year.

Ras Al Khaimah Police K9 carry out1-1676718282668 — The dogs' training involves simulating crime scenes Image Credit: Supplied

Due to their speed and flexibility, dogs can often crawl or jump into places where it would be impractical or impossible for police officers to go. The tasks carried out by the dogs varied between tracking down drugs, missing persons, fugitives, stolen items as well as searching for bodies in disasters.

Sharp sense

Highly-trained police dogs are also used for guard duties, at crime scenes and part of investigations into the causes of fires, Lt Col Abdullah said. He added that thousands of cases have been solved in Ras Al Khaimah with the aid of police dogs. Police officers rely on the dogs’ highly evolved sense of smell, which is more than 50 times sharper than humans.

Ras Al Khaimah Police K9 carry out434-1676718284798 — The special unit has a dedicated facility in the police department Image Credit: Supplied

Lt Col Abdullah said Ras Al Khaimah Police pays special attention to police dogs, through its healthy and therapeutic environment, in addition to selecting trainers according to approved standards, enrolling dogs in training courses and pacing them through field exercises based on scenarios that simulate criminal cases, and how to uncover forensic evidence as quickly as possible.