Detector Dogs: Every day is bring your dog to work day
August 2, 2024
Imagine bringing your dog to work every day. Dog lovers would call that a dream job.
For Correctional Service Canada (CSC) dog handlers, it is.
“I've always loved dogs and working with dogs,” says Luc Mazerolle, technical advisor for the Detector Dog Program. “It's the most challenging, positive job in CSC.”
Luc was a dog handler from 2007 to 2021. He was also a trainer with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in Rigaud, Quebec, where some of CSC’s detector dogs are trained. As technical advisor for the program, he is now responsible for the Atlantic, Quebec, and Pacific regions.
Heather Sharpe, Luc’s counterpart, is technical advisor for Ontario and the Prairie regions. The number of detector dog teams is split almost equally between Luc and Heather’s regions.
“We liaise with handlers and managers at the sites. Somewhat of a middle person between the program at NHQ and the institutional level,” says Heather. “We’re there for support for handlers. Also, we’re support for management if they have any questions about the program.
CSC introduced the Detector Dog Program in 2001 to curb the flow of illicit drugs into the institutions. The nearly 90 detector dog-handler teams are at every institution. They conduct institutional searches daily, both routine and non-routine searches. Non-routine searches can take place at 4:00 in the morning or 11:00 at night. Inmates are not informed of these searches, otherwise the dog teams would not find as much. The dogs search cells and ranges for drugs, contraband, and firearms. They are responsible for approximately 29% of drug seizures.
“The dogs are considered a nonintrusive search tool. Basically, the dog can sweep a cell, room, or an area, a lot faster than it would take a person to hand search everything,” says Heather.
“Being one person, I would have to go through everything in an inmate’s cell by hand, which could be very time consuming. Whereas the dog can sweep through the room and can pinpoint to you. It's much quicker.”
Luc agrees. “Just think of a warehouse with 2,500 boxes. It's impossible for you and me to go search that in half an hour. But the dog can do it in probably 15 to 20 minutes.”
Heather and her dog Uno searching the mail at Grand Valley Institution in Kitchener, Ontario, in 2018.
In the last two years, five new dog teams have been trained to search for electronic devices, such as cell phones, USB sticks, SD cards, and other items used to store information.
“Obviously Inmates are not allowed cellphones for many reasons, but one being they could share their location for drones drops,” says Sue Locatelli, Acting/National Coordinator of the Detector Dog Program in the Preventive Security and Intelligence Branch.
Detector dog Poppy on inmate’s bed surrounded by contraband she sniffed out.
These dogs are trained to find triphenylphosphine oxide, or TPPO, a chemical that coats memory chips to protect them from overheating. Since the electronic storage device detector dog pilot program was implemented in April 2023, the dogs have found more than 348 cellphones and several hundred other storage devices.
A couple of years ago, Luc heard the Connecticut State Police were training dogs to search for electronic devices. It seemed a good program to pilot in CSC institutions. In 2023, two CSC dog handlers went to Connecticut to meet their detector dogs and be trained to work with them to find electronic storage devices.
Back in Canada, the dogs were successful in their institutional searches. Since then, CBSA took on the project of training three more electronic storage device detector dog teams. With five teams, there are now one per region. Each is associated with one site but travels to different institutions in that region for searches.
The dogs trained by CBSA remain with their handler all the time but after work
stay in a kennel in the handler’s backyard and not in their house. Only the handler takes care of the dog. It is not considered part of the family. It is a working dog.
“Connecticut State Police, on the other hand, consider the dog the handler’s family,” says Sue, explaining how the two electronic device detector dogs trained in the U.S. differ. “These dogs are handfed as they are working, searching, and seizing. Their food reward is easy. The dog is more relaxed. Whereas the CBSA dogs use the toy reward method, these dogs are generally more hyper. There are pros and cons to both, but very different training methods.”
All teams have been successful.
Luc notes, “It's amazing what a dog can do and find, but there is a lot of work that goes into it.”
“I would agree with that,” says Heather. “People don't understand the amount of work that goes into being a good team and the amount of time the handlers spend, progressively training as a team and developing that bond… building on your relationship and your searching skills.”
It’s a bond that continues for Heather and for Luc. Both adopted dogs they had worked with when the dogs retired. Now, the dogs are house pets and not kennelled as they were as working dogs.
Our handlers and their dogs play an important role in maintaining the safety and security of CSC’s Institutions. Find out more about our Detector Dog Program, and listen to our podcast: Preventing and detecting contraband . You can also watch one of our handlers who take their detector dogs to work in our Lift Me Up video: Brandy, Correctional Officer and Buddy, Detector Dog
Detector Dog Vivian searches under an inmate’s shelves for contraband
Page details
- Date modified: