Canines

The Canine Unit of the Cleveland Police Department provides trained canines and handlers to assist in the prevention and detection of crime. Police canines are trained specifically for the purpose of assisting police and other law enforcement personnel in their work.

Primarily, the canine patrol is assigned as preventive patrol. Canines may be used for narcotics detection and bomb detection. The canine is specifically trained and certified for each function it performs. Bomb detection canines are not be trained for narcotics detection. When searching, canines are aided by their strong sense of smell, eyesight, and hearing.

The success and accomplishment of desired results with the use of canines depends on the quality and quantity of traceable odors. When the services of the canine are requested, every effort to avoid contaminating the scene is made by responding officers. Currently, the Cleveland Police Department owns three police canines, two drug/apprehension canines and one EOD (bomb detection) canine. The drug canines are Aries and Rocco and the EOD canine is Max.