Commencement of Duty for Five New Data Detection Dogs at the Police

At the Austrian police, five specially trained data detection dogs have started their service. In rainy weather, four of them were presented with their decree by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) at the training facility in Strebersdorf in Vienna-Floridsdorf on Friday.

The special training lasts eight weeks. By the end of the year, eleven data detection dogs are expected to be in service throughout Austria, announced the Director General for Public Security, Franz Ruf.

Detection Dogs Sniff Out Laptops, Mobile Phones & More

The training to become a protection and search dog with the police takes two years, followed by special training, such as corpse detection, drug detection, or - newly added - the course for data carrier detection. The animals are trained to search for digital evidence such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, e-wallets, USB sticks, SIM cards, as well as money, counterfeit money, and documents like passports as quickly as possible. In cooperation with the Bavarian police, the special training has now also been introduced in Austria.

Now, these five dogs - all Belgian and Dutch Shepherds - will initially start their service in Vienna, Carinthia, Salzburg, Styria, and Tyrol. By the end of 2025, there should be eleven service dogs in all federal states. The second course started two weeks ago. According to Ruf, up to 30 animals are to be trained for data detection in the future.

Animals Are Conditioned to the Scent of Circuit Boards

The dogs are primarily conditioned to the scent of the circuit board - printed circuit boards for electronic components. The training method is conducted with clicker training. This means that the animal is signaled by the sound of a clicker when it has done something correctly. The reward then follows with treats or toys. The data carrier detection dog indicates to its handler through a passive signal - the animal freezes and stops sniffing intensely - that it has discovered something. There is also active indication, where the dog barks.

The found items are not touched by the four-legged friend to avoid destroying any traces, explained training director Bernhard Brüggler. For the animals, the search is a physical peak performance, said Rudolf König from the service dog department in the Ministry of the Interior. During intense sniffing, dogs can inhale and exhale up to 300 times per minute. The animals cannot be used for longer than 15 to 20 minutes.

Great Help in Investigations Against ATM Bombers

The new search method by the dogs is of great value for investigations into cyber and economic crime, but also for violent crimes, extremism, terrorism, stalking, hate crime, or in combating organized crime. "This allows us to conduct house searches, vehicle searches, but also searches of large open areas very specifically, very effectively, and quickly," said Ruf. In their first deployments after completing training in July, the new data carrier detection dogs have already secured 135,000 euros in cash, 38 data carriers, and 32 passports. The animals were successfully used, for example, in securing evidence during investigations against ATM bombers. The official start of service has now taken place.

The police must also adapt to the new methods of criminals - cybercrime is an area that has increased the most in the past, said the Minister of the Interior. Therefore, cyber competence centers have been installed. And part of this Cyber-Cobra are now the new service dogs, "detectives on four paws," as Karner emphasized. The rapid detection and analysis of modern data carriers would also help prevent attacks, said Jörg Leichtfried (SPÖ), State Secretary for State Protection in the Ministry of the Interior. These are often well hidden. The new service dogs would be "specialists capable of cracking the best hiding places," said Leichtfried, which the animals also demonstrated during a presentation to journalists.

(APA/Red)

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