U.S. Customs and Border Protection Canine Enforcement Program

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Canine Enforcement Program ( Canine Enforcement Program ) is protecting America as the largest and most diverse law enforcement canine program in the country.

The CBP canine program continues to diversify canine detection capabilities needed to combat terrorism, interdict narcotics, and other contraband while helping to facilitate and process legitimate trade and travel. Providing optimal defense at and between our borders, CBP has the largest number of working dog teams of any Federal Law Enforcement Agency. Canine teams are assigned to 73 ports of entry and 74 Border Patrol stations throughout the U.S.

CBP's Canine Enforcement Program has expanded to meet the diverse and demanding challenges facing our country today. CBP’s canine officers and agents use specially trained detector dogs to combat terrorist threats as well as interdict contraband and concealed persons at our nation's borders, land ports, seaports, international airports, and international mail facilities. To meet these threats, the CBP canine program has developed training courses as well as trained and deployed canine teams in an array of specialized detection capabilities. This includes:

* Chemical Detector Dogs - These dogs are trained to detect chemical odors used in weapons of mass destruction that could be smuggled into the United States.
* Explosive Detector Dogs - These dogs are trained to detect explosive odors-that could be concealed in cargo, vehicles, aircraft, luggage and on passengers.
* Currency Detector Dogs - Currency teams are trained to detect the odor of undeclared U.S. Currency being smuggled out of our country to circumvent required monetary reporting requirements.
* Agriculture Detector Dogs - These canines can detect fruits, vegetables, meats or other prohibited items that may carry animal, pests, or plant diseases which could possibly harm U.S. agriculture resources.
* Concealed Human/Narcotic Detector Dogs - These dogs are used to detect concealed persons attempting to enter the United States illegally, as well as narcotics.
* BORSTAR Canines - Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Teams are highly specialized units capable of responding to emergency search and rescue situations in the United States. The dogs are trained to search off leash and perform a recall-re-find indication, which has the dog return to the handler after finding missing persons and leading the handler to the location.
* Narcotics Detector Dogs - These dogs are used in the interdiction and detection of narcotics, such as marijuana, hashish, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and methamphetamine.

The canine enforcement program is responsible for a significant proportion of concealed human detection and narcotic seizures made by Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry, checkpoints, and between official ports of entry

In FY 2005, canine teams at the port of entry seized over 407,447 pounds of narcotics, over 20 million illegal drug units (various pills, capsules, or vials), and over $15.2 million in seized property, resulting in 3,138 arrests. At checkpoints and between the official ports of entry, canine teams made 3,809 seizures totaling over 504,290 pounds of narcotics. The canine enforcement program was also responsible for detecting 50,468 concealed humans in FY 2005. During FY 2005 the canine enforcement program was accountable for over 52,866 Quarantine Material Interceptions of plant products and 15,216 Quarantine Material Interceptions of animal products with a combined weight of 66,096 pounds.

Three training facilities support the CBP canine force. The Canine Enforcement Training Center, ( Canine Enforcement Training Center Photography ) in Front Royal, Virginia, was established in 1974. The National Canine Facility, in El Paso, Texas, was established in 1991 and USDA’s National Detector Dog Training Center in Orlando, Florida, was established in 1997. In addition to CBP’s border security mission, the CBP Canine Enforcement Program also conducts training for other federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies. The program also provides, on a case-by-case basis, assistance to state and local law enforcement entities.

The predominant canine chosen for the program are from the sporting and working breeds. A variety of dogs are used including Labrador retrievers, Golden retrievers, Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, English Beagle, and mixed breeds. The most important factor in selecting detector dogs ( Detector Dog Gallery ) for training is not the breed, but their personality and enthusiasm the dog displays toward retrieving a given object.

The majority of dogs selected for the program are obtained from vendors, animal shelters, humane societies and rescue leagues. However, in September 1998, a breeding program ( CBP Detector Dog Breeding Program ) was established to provide additional detector dogs to the program. Currently, CBP has produced 148 puppies in 22 litters at the Canine Enforcement Training Center. At the National Canine Facility 3 litters have been born with 26 puppies deployed. The breeding program relies on the local community and experienced handlers to raise and socialize the puppies until they can be trained.

At U.S. borders and checkpoints, our dogs can screen a vehicle in seconds and do a thorough exam in minutes. Even a cursory search by an officer or agent would require at least 20 minutes. These dogs are also able to check packages in a fraction of the time needed by mail examiners – saving time, money, and people.

For more information on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Canine Enforcement Program, visit our web site at www.cbp.gov click on the border security block, top right, and then on canines.