The two principal foci of the panel discussions were Operational Issues led by Larry Porter, who works grant development and special projects for the National Center; and Legal and Forensics Issues led by Donal Hartman, an attorney as well as an adjunct professor at Norwich University and the Associate Director of Norwich University’s online Masters in Justice Administration.
The panels included several nationally and internationally recognized subject matter experts with extensive experience in canine research, and operational issues such as training, testing, certification and associated legal issues.
The panel that addressed operational issues related to standards for training, certification testing, certification sponsorship, performance monitoring and record keeping, and re-certification was comprised of:
Dr. L. Paul Waggoner, from Auburn University’s Canine & Detection Research Institute and the Institute’s Canine Detection Training Center, provided a very informative presentation on the science behind the training of search dogs. He offered many comments and suggestions during the forum related to ensuring that the science stands behind the development of any standards.
Dr. Dan Craig, a distinguished alumnus from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, has been widely recognized for his contributions to the field of animal behavior. He was instrumental in the organization of the Department of Defense Military Working Dog (MWD) Program, specifically the development of the facility and the training of military working dogs at Lackland Air Force Base. Many of the documents and procedures he developed at MWD are still in use. Dr Craig also developed and validated training protocols to teach dogs to detect other target odors for other federal agencies: the FBI, U. S. Secret Service, FAA, (TSA, or Transportation Security Administration) and the USDA. His comments during the forum were based on his many years in the field, and were well regarded.
Teresa MacPherson of DisasterDog.org, the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) community, presented the FEMA Disaster Search Canine Readiness Evaluation Program (DSCREP) as a model for establishing a complete standards-based program.
Legal and Forensics Issues panel members included:
Dr. Terry Fleck, an expert in the field of canine legalities, and author of several publications titled “Legal Updates and Opinions.”
Ken Wallentine, a public safety professional offering consultation, training, and litigation support services, author of several publications, including the recently published "Criminal Procedure: The Street Cop's Guide,” is also a veteran law enforcement officer, risk manager, and former prosecutor and civil litigator.
Attorney Mark Rispoli, addressed initiatives and current efforts of the Scientific Working Group on Detector Dog Orthogonal Guidelines (SWGDOG) to identify standards and best practice guidelines. Legal counsel for the California Narcotic Canine Association, as well as a professional law enforcement K9 trainer with more than 25 years of experience in law enforcement, Mark has extensive knowledge in the instruction of canine scent discrimination training, canine detection searches, and police patrol dog civil liability.
Tony Lavelle, representing the International Explosive Detection Dog Association (IEDDA), presented a report on the 4th Detector Dog Conference, held in April 2005.
Also participating were representatives of Federal government canine programs – CBP (the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Patrol), TSA (DHS Transportation Security Administration), and ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives), as well as from a variety of backgrounds, including police departments and individual dog handlers. Rounding out the cross section of stakeholders were representatives of several private search dog training companies who provided valuable input to discussions as well as insight into “as is” processes.
The following are links to some of the briefings/presentations and information papers. All have been converted to Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files.
A post-Forum proceeding is anticipated to be issued late summer.
The forum moderator, Larry Porter, may be contacted at lporter@norwich.edu or at 802-485-2759.
