Policy Text
Field and Investigative Se rvices Page 1 of 8 8/04 ( REV 11/16)
Canine Enforcement Deta il Deployment Guidelines
The purpose of this Order is to establish deployment guidelines and responsibilities for
the Canine Enforcement Detail. It shall be the Policy of the Sacr amento County Sheriff’s Depar tment to only use
canines in appropriate circumstanc es and to review all injuries received from
Department canines. I. General
A. Canines are search tools used for locating wanted or missing persons,
evidence, explosives, and/or narcotics.
B. Canines may also be utilized in the physical apprehension of persons
within the deploy ment guidelines.
C. The decision whether or not to deploy a Sheriff’s canine in any given
situation shall remain with the handler. The handler alone is best qualified
to determine whether their cani ne can be used in a given situat ion, and is
most knowledgeable of their cani ne’s capabilitie s and limitatio ns.
II. Canine Approval from Supervisor
A. Canine units shall not be us ed for the following reasons wi thout approval:
1. Crowd control without authoriz ation of the on-duty watch
commander.
2. Demonstrations of the canines’ abilities without prior autho rization
from the Canine Detail Sergeant.
III. Deployment Guidelines
A. Department canines may be used to locate and apprehend a sus pect if
the handler reasonably believes the individual has either commi tted or is
about to commit any serious off ense and if any of the following conditions
exist:
Field and Investigative Se rvices Page 2 of 8 8/04 ( REV 11/16) 1. There is a reasonable belief t he individual poses an imminen t threat
of violence or serious harm to the public, the canine handler, or any
officer.
2. The individual is physically r esisting arrest and the use of a canine
reasonably appears necessary to overcome such resistance.
3. The individual(s) is/are belie ved to be concealed in an area where
entry by other than the canine woul d pose a threat to the safet y of
the officers or the public.
4. It is recognized situations m ay arise which do not fall with in the
provisions set forth in this policy. In any such case, a stand ard of
objective reasonableness shall be u sed to review the decision t o
use a canine in view of the to tality of the circumstances.
B. Absent the presence of one or more of the abov e conditions, mere flight
from pursuing officer(s) shall not serve as good cause for the use of a
canine to apprehend an individual.
IV. Considerations Prior to Deployment
A. Prior to the use of a Departm ent canine to search for or app rehend any
individual, the canine handler and/or supervisor on scene shall carefully
consider all pertinent informati on reasonably available at the time. The
information should include, but i s not limited to the following :
1. The individual’s age or an estimate thereof.
2. The nature of the su spected offense.
3. Any potential danger to the pub lic and/or other officers at the scene
if the canine is utilized.
4. The degree of resistance, if any , the individual has shown.
5. The potential for escape or f light if the canine is not util ized.
6. The potential for injury to o fficers or the public caused by the
individual if the canine is not used.
V. Canine Search Announcement
A. Unless it would otherwise incr ease the risk of injury or esc ape, a clearly
audible warning to announce a c anine will be rel eased if the pe rson does
not come forth, shall be made pr ior to releasing a canine. The canine
handler, when practical, shall firs t advise the supervisor of h is/her decision
if a verbal warning is not given prior to releasing the canine. In the event
of an apprehension where the subject was contacted by the canin e, the
handler shall document in any rel ated report whether or not a v erbal
warning was given, and if none was given, the reasons why. Whe n giving
a canine warning the following c onsiderations should be taken i nto
account:
Field and Investigative Se rvices Page 3 of 8 8/04 ( REV 11/16)
1. Provide the canine warning in a loud voice, or by use of amp lified
sound.
2. Announce the presenc e of the canine unit.
3. Order the subjec t out of hiding.
4. Warn the subject they may be injured by the canine.
5. Give the subject a reasonable amount of time to comply with the
announcement before starting search.
6. Repeat warnings when appropriate. 7. Advise Communications afte r warnings have been given.
8. Advise Communications that the search has begun.
9. When feasible use the helicopter ’s or patrol vehicle’s publi c
address system to make announcements.
VI. Non-Criminal Searches
A. Canines have senses far superior to those of humans. They m ay often be
effectively utilized to track or search for non-criminals (e.g. lost children,
individuals who may be disorient ed or in need of medical attent ion). In
such circumstances, it will be necessary for the handler to eva luate the