SOP - K-9 Unit

Our Mission The mission of the K-9 Unit is to assist the many Law Enforcement departments within San Andreas in their efforts of crime prevention and detection, criminal apprehension, officer safety, and service to the community. The K-9 unit archives this with the safe and effective use of a very powerful tool, the police canine. K-9 officers will assist with the help of our K-9 Partners, in the identification of illegal narcotics, assist in the recovery of missing persons, and capture of fugitive suspects among other important tasks.

Jurisdiction

The San Andreas K-9 Unit provides handler and K-9 Training to Departments allowing them to field K-9 Units in regular service. As such, Jurisdiction is statewide.

Recruitment

The San Andreas K-9 Unit is open to all members who hold a LEO qualification and who do not currently have points against them.

Disciplinary Action

K-9 Units, both handlers and K-9 Officers are held to a higher standard than regular officers and are expected to maintain an exemplary standard of roleplay when active as members of the subdivision. Failure to adhere to the policies within this Standard Operating Procedure Document can result in removal from the Subdivision or wider disciplinary action.

K-9 Commander’s Role

The K-9 Commander is to run the subdivision and coordinate standard operating procedures for all K-9 Law Enforcement personnel. They will also help interpret the standard operating procedure when it is being questioned by members. A K-9 Commander's role also is to make sure the K-9 Unit Members are well informed with new changes happening, maintain discipline and handle departmental policy and issues.

K-9 Rank Structure

• K-9 Officer - This officer is permitted to run K-9. May apply to be a training officer.

• Senior K-9 Officer - This officer is permitted all of the above and is a training officer for the division.

• K-9 Commander - This officer runs the day-to-day operations of the Subdivision, reviews applications and documents, and handles promotions.

Uniform Policies

Can be found in the K-9 uniform policy doc.

That can be found here

Operational Limitations

As a K-9 officer, you are able to respond to normal calls even ones where a K-9 is not needed. The police K-9 is a powerful and useful tool for law enforcement and can be used in a variety of situations. However, it is important to keep these limitations in mind:

• At no time, is a K-9 or handler to use the following functionalities in game to facilitate in a pursuit: Thermal Vision, Spectating Players, Live Map, or any other mechanism for seeing a person’s position.

• All K-9 RP is to be conducted either visually, or through /me and /ooc mechanisms utilised within Chaos Gaming Network.

• This allows us to conduct our role, without the ability to metagame or powergame a situation. You will conduct yourself to the same standards, whether K-9 dog or handler, as any other officer in patrol.

K-9 Care

• You will name your K-9 Partner, this will be one of the main ways in which they will respond to your instructions. The K-9 officer will need to create an animal character with the formatting of K9-Name. Ex. (K9-Odin (All one word with a hyphen between K9 and the Dog name))

• As a Handler, you must treat your K-9 Partner as though they are an actual dog. They cannot open doors, or access spaces as humans can. They will also require food and water, and exercise if your services are not required on an active call, remember your partner’s needs.

• If your K-9 partner needs to utilise the bathroom (you should provide regular opportunities) you will find a safe and open area where a dog could realistically be allowed off the leash, and allowed to do their business. Once complete, you must bag and remove all waste.

• If you are going to leave your partner in your vehicle for an extended period of time, ensure that doors are closed and locked, including the partition door, if you are out of sight of the vehicle.

• If you are at a police station, you may escort your K-9 to a station kennel where they have shelter, food and water and space to rest.

• Your K-9 partner is to be considered a Law Enforcement officer in all standards except for criminal charges. If a third party harms a K-9 dog, including cases of serious injury or death of the dog, that party can only be charged with (4)21.Criminal Harm of a Public Working Animal

• If your K-9 is injured on a scene, your responsibility is to provide immediate care once it is safe to do so (K-9 Trauma kit carried in your vehicle), and once possible, transport them to a local veterinary practice for emergency care. (930 Animal Ark for Blaine County and 366 Pet Shop for LS County). Once at a local veterinary practice, utilize the ER script to the nearest hospital)

• Any actual deployment of the K-9 (other than patrol) must be notified to a Supervisor as with any officer force deployment. (IE same procedure as when a taser is deployed, or a firearm is discharged, etc)

• Officers are allowed to take home their K-9s as pets, HOWEVER, K-9s are not permitted to use the K-9 ped model off duty, due to it having a vest. If taken off-duty, K-9s must use the Default GTA shepherd model.

• The K-9 vest, like all other LEO equipment, uniforms and weapons are to be left at a station when going off duty. Any use of the K-9 vest or any other LEO K-9 equipment off duty will subject the member to disciplinary action.

K-9 Behavior

• As a K-9, you are to follow your handler’s instructions at all times and behave like a trained police dog. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary action.

• You will never speak through the in-game microphone and pronounce human words. This is fail RP as dogs cannot speak. Dog sounds that are legitimate, will be acceptable within reason, however, you must be mindful of other members speaking and listening.

• As a K-9 Officer, you will be present in the LEO Channel during patrol, however, your microphone will remain muted, and your handler will conduct all Radio Traffic.

• K-9 Officers are unable to press their Handler’s Panic button

• If the Handler is injured or down and unable to command the K-9, the K-9 will stand guard over their handler until help arrives. The K-9 dog will protect the Handler from any third party that may attempt to harm the handler, however, the K-9 dog will not interfere with any uniformed emergency service workers attempting to aid the downed officer.

Vehicle Structure, Equipment & Unit Number Designations

San Andreas K-9 Units are identified as Kilo or King Units and your teamspeak name should include the -K designator during patrol whether Handler or K-9 Officer.

Vehicles

The K-9 Subdivision has 2 vehicles to use at its disposal

NAME SPAWN CODE

K-9 Tahoe	LEO13
K-9 Caprice	LEO14

.

Any person transported as a passenger in a K-9 Vehicle must comply with all instructions from the handler. They will be briefed on not reaching into the K-9 cage, and not to engage the animal unless directed to by the handler. They are not to reach for, pet or handle the K-9.

K-9 officers are not permitted to perform ride-alongs, either with civilians or other LEO

Personal and K-9 Equipment

In addition to your standard law enforcement equipment listed in the LEO SOP, you will carry the following on your person and in your vehicle. Note, at all times you will carry waste bags and a spare leash on your person and treats.

• Muzzle and & Leash.

• Two metal bowls (Water and Food).

• Dry Food.

• Supply of drinking water.

• Ball or other toy (in-game baseball).

• Waste bags & Poop Scoop.

• K-9 Treats.

• K-9 Trauma Kit.

Utilization Purposes for K-9 Units

• Cover calls / officer safety related incidents.

• Pursuits - In accordance with Departmental pursuit policy.

• Cover and respond to radio calls.

• Searches for fleeing and/or concealed suspects.

• Searches:

• Building

• Evidence

• Area

• Cadaver Search - Searching for the location of human remains.

• Directed patrol. - Patrolling a given area on foot with K-9 partner.

Search And Rescue/ Tracking

When responding to a search and rescue or tracking call, the Handler will report to the commanding officer on scene, and establish the situation, the severity of crimes if a criminal search is being conducted, and the risks to the K-9 involved (armed status, environmental considerations such as broken glass, or hazardous substances/CBRN)

Once established that it is safe to operate, the handler will attempt to locate an item of clothing belonging to the subject or victim that will allow a sent to be determined and subsequently tracked.

At this time, the Handler will inform officers on scene over radio, that the dog is commencing search.

At all times during an open area search, you MUST maintain visual contact with your K-9 partner to the best of your abilities and recall the K-9 if it gets too far away.

The utilization of K-9 assets for search purposes in game will require coordination with the civilian on scene. This will entirely depend on the circumstances of the search.

Active search for fleeing suspects and or Search and Rescue - In these instances, a K-9 will require a scent to track a suspect or victim. In the case of active fleeing suspects, a K-9 can track a scent from its source (vehicle etc).

In the case of search and rescue, an offered item belonging to the victim will provide this initial scent.

In this case, and this case alone, it will be legally possible to break into a victim’s car, if located, to acquire an item to assist the dog in finding a scent as life is at risk.

Example:

Handler: /ooc Searches vehicle for items belonging to the suspect.

Suspect: /ooc Finds red scarf.

The Handler would present the item of clothing to the K-9 to gain scent, then allow the dog to begin tracking.

K-9: /ooc K-9 has scent, does the dog find a scent trail and direction of travel?

Suspect: /ooc trail located, suspect traveled east along riverbank.

Tracking considerations to be taken into account:

A scent trail cannot be tracked across water. If a suspect crosses water, the trail will go cold, you must attempt to reacquire the trail on the opposite bank to continue the search.

Strong scents, or locations of strong scent can and will throw a dog off a trail… This is to be considered, especially when tracking through areas of high traffic, it may be impossible to continue a trail.

The suspect may choose to give little, or a great deal of information. Utilize this to the best of your ability, but as with evidence provided on any scene, this is down to the civilian.

Distance of tracking is to be considered, your K-9 will need to rest.

The age of a trail will factor heavily into its ability to be tracked. A fresh trail will provide the dog a strong opportunity to track, however, a trial several days old, may prove fruitless.

Cover Calls and Foot Pursuits

When a K-9 Unit is called to provide cover to an officer, or actively take part in a pursuit of a suspect. The K-9 is to be kept on the leash until the animal is needed to either detain or acquire a suspect. If the K-9 is required to intercept and detain a subject, the handler will either release the animal from their vehicle with a remote, the door handle, or removal of the leash. At this point, the K-9 will target the suspect indicated by the handler. Ensure that before you release your K-9, that it is safe to do so, and that civilians are not present in the area as the dog may target.

K-9 Commands

Due to the fact that dogs cannot comprehend human language, K-9 dogs are trained to recognize specific commands for specific actions. Commands must be stated with the K-9s name first, followed by the command. Ex (Oden, heel!) K-9 officers must stick to the commands listed, and cannot makeup or manipulate the commands for patrol use, as realistically the K-9 dogs would not understand a command that was not taught. Repeated failures to use proper commands may result in disciplinary action.

Heel - Calls the K-9 to the officer’s side where the animal will remain until given instructions. (Default position for when on a leash) Heel will also return the dog to the handler.

Hold - The K-9 will remain in position.

Sit - The K-9 will sit, and remain in position.

Bite - The K-9 will target the indicated subject and detain them by biting.

Track - A K-9 dog will follow a scent trail from its source to the object. Most often this will be used when tracking a person, or during a SAR operation.

Find it - The K-9 dog will search an area such as a car or small room, for any narcotics, firearm residue or traces of human scent

Kennel - The K-9 dog will go to and enter a storage space, such as a kennel in a police station, or the cage in the back of a police car.

Good - A “praise” word to reinforce good behavior. This can be said after a K-9 completes a task well, or succeeds at what they have been assigned. This word is often followed by giving the K-9 a treat.

No - A “Corrective” word to point out when a K-9 is doing unfavorable behavior, and the handler is trying to correct said behavior.

Commands can be issued in either English or German. A list of translations is below.

English	German
Heel	Fuss (foos)
Hold	Bleib (Bly'b) (stay)
Sit	Sitz (sittz)
Bite	Packen/Fass
Track	Such
Find it	Voran
Kennel	Zwinger
Good (Praise)	So ist brav
No (Correction)	Nien

Commands are to be issued in a short, stern manner in concert with the K-9’s name to allow the K-9 to understand your instructions.

Response to calls, and pursuit involvement

When a K-9 unit is called to a scene, they are to respond per LEO SOP and the incident severity.

K-9 Units are available to be involved in pursuits, but will only be permitted to take the tertiary position in the pursuit in the K-9 Tahoe, for purposes of handling foot pursuits. If a K-9 Unit is in the K-9 Caprice, then they will be allowed in secondary. There is to be only one K-9 unit attached per pursuit unless an all call and or absolutely necessary.

If you have difficulty maintaining pursuit contact (vehicle speed) Allow faster units through, and follow at best ability.

Shots fired situations

During a call, if a scene escalates to shots fired and the animal is still inside the vehicle, they MUST remain there for their own safety. If the K-9 is out of the vehicle, do your best to ensure their safety.

At no time, is a K-9 to be set on a known armed subject unless all other options are exhausted. You are tasked with protecting their life, and wilfully sending a K-9 into harm's way will result in disciplinary action. Your partner cannot defend themselves against a ranged weapon or bladed weapon.

Consider your K-9 partner’s safety. If you are responding to a shots fired call, or a dangerous all call, leave your K-9 in the vehicle until you are confident that the scene is safe enough for them to work.

In situations where all options have been exhausted, a suspect is barricaded, and the K-9 handler feels that it would do more good than harm to send a dog in, the K-9 may be utilized. Keep in mind that a K-9 will only be able to handle one suspect, so the dog should not be sent in if there are 2 or more armed suspects. A K-9 can only subdue a suspect for a short amount of time as well, so after the K-9 breaches it is important that officers follow immediately after.

It is up to a K-9 handler to decide whether it is safe for the dog to enter during a shots fired scene. If you as a K-9 handler do not feel it is safe, your verdict is final. Keep in mind the fact that while a K-9 is a life to be valued, a K-9’s life should be valued less than a human officer's life for the purposes of deciding to breach of an armed suspect.

Evidence Search and Narcotics Operations

When a K-9 unit is being utilized in a narcotics role, the K-9 will operate like a regular officer and utilize /me and /ooc to scent for target items.

Example:

*Handler escorts K-9 to a vehicle and issues a search command.*

K-9: /me sniffs for narcotics and location.

Suspect: Weed under front right seat.

*K-9 Roleplays searching from their present location until they reach the target spot, where they will stop, and sit.*

Note: Dogs can smell any item that has a human scent (ditched firearm, etc.), however, inside a vehicle this becomes a trickier prospect. In real life, Narcotics dogs are specially trained, and typically react to only narcotics and large quantities of currency (paper currency). With reduced numbers, this is not always possible.

In the case of a search, the handler will maintain a leash control of their partner as they approach the target building or vehicle. They will issue the command for their partner to begin a search, guiding the k-9 as they move. The Handler will escort the animal as it searches, and if the K-9 gets a hit, the K-9 will stop and sit. This indicates the presence of a trained for substance.

At this time, the dog has provided the handler with probable cause for a search, and a manual search will be conducted.

Remember, K-9s can be trained to search for narcotics or Cadavers (bodies)

At all times, you will utilize an additional officer on scene to maintain control of the subject whilst the handler guides the K-9 through the search.

Structure Search

First, the K-9 Handler will contact the primary unit on scene and establish the nature of the call, establish perimeter security, and whether or not officers are inside the building.

An initial perimeter sweep should be conducted with the K-9 on a leash, unless off leash deployment is tactically necessary (In case of difficult to reach terrain or space limitations).

Before Entering the building, the handler will recruit a unit to assist as cover officer, and brief them on the role. This will involve, providing armed cover to the handler and K-9 as they conduct their search, on or off leash as the handler will be occupied commanding the K-9.

Before entering a residential building the handler will take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of residents that may still be inside, including keeping the K-9 on a leash where necessary and maintaining visual contact with their K-9 if off leash to issue stop commands.

When entering, you should be identifying yourself to alert those inside as to the presence of a K-9 Unit.

Example identification:

“Subjects inside the building, (Identify department and K-9), Announce yourself now or I will be releasing my K-9 and you will be bit.”

(This may be via /ooc if range is a consideration)

You are to identify yourself no less than twice before deploying the K-9.

Upon entering the building or structure, ensure that your cover officer is with you and able to follow verbal direction. Release the K-9 at the door and allow the dog to search off leash. Follow your K-9 to the best of your abilities, and track the screams.

If a subject is being searched for in the building, the K-9 will conduct a search until it locates an individual at which point it will verbally indicate, or if out of range, utilize /ooc to indicate it has found something of note or a subject indicates they are screaming or bitten.

Example: /ooc Barking coming from end of corridor. (Do not be specific, sound bounces)