The Federal Police appear to be facing a shortage of explosive detection dogs. According to the Police Union (GdP), and as reported by the “Rheinische Post” on Tuesday, hundreds of service dogs are missing. Andreas Roßkopf, the chairman for the Federal Police and Customs sector, stated to the newspaper that “the structure of the service dog system of the Federal Police is unconditionally outdated”.
Roßkopf added that a lack of necessary resources is not unusual. He noted, “Often, the failure already occurs due to dog leashes, but also due to protective clothing for protection dog assistants and suitable explosives for training”. According to the union, the Federal Police should currently have over 629 service dogs. However, only 446 are available, with 308 of those being operational. The federal government confirmed this precarious situation in mid-March when responding to a parliamentary inquiry from The Left Party, stating that “the Federal Police has had an average of over 450 service dogs since 2010. A decreasing trend”.
Roßkopf urgently called for a reform of the service dog system within the Federal Police. He argued that technical aids are nowhere near the capability of, for instance, well-trained explosive detection dogs. He insisted that a “central department for service dog management” along with modern premises and training facilities, are necessary.
