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Show Four-footed Flatfeet Help War on Crime Police chiefs around the world are discovering that man's best friend can also be the criminal's worst enemy. Faced with a steadily rising crime rate, and handicapped by severe shortages of policemen and money, an increasing number num-ber of cities are experimenting with trained dogs, reports an article in the Reader's Digest, "Dogs That Keep the Peace," by Charles G. Leedham. Dogs have been used for some time in Salt Lake City. Baltimore pioneered with a squad of 40 K-9 cops in 1956. In their first year, the dogs were credited with 500 arrests. On guard around Johns Hopkins and other large hospitals, the dogs have almost eliminated mugging and holdups of nurses and hospital hos-pital visitors. Trained Dobermans patrol the aisles of Macy's, world's largest department store in New York at night long watching for the thieves who used to hide until after closing and pilfer at their leisure. This kind of theft was a serious problem until the dog patrol began operations seven years ago. Now looters give the store such a wide berth that store detectives sometimes act the part of thieves and let themselves them-selves be caught just so the dogs won't become discouraged by their weeks of fruitless roaming. roam-ing. In London, three police dogs broke up a riot of 1500 rock and rolling teen agers. The London dogs, incidentally, were credited with 1850 arrests last year and finding of 36 missing persons. The dogs are rigidly trained never to attack anyone, unless they are ordered to, are under attack themselves, or have to stop a fugitive. To "make, an arrest," ar-rest," they will circle the suspect and snarl and show their teeth but never bite unless they must. They also seem to have a sixth sense about criminals. It may stem from an ability to detect fear, literally to smell the "cold sweat" of a frightened hoodlum. One dog in London last November Novem-ber suddenly stopped, sniffed and released from his leash, ran into a lot where some construction construc-tion was going on. His handler followed, and found the dog in front of two frightened burglars with a pile of loot they had been dividing. |
