Police and Dog Encounters: Safe Humane March 2014 Voiceover: Beat Intro 00:00 This is the Beat—a podcast series that keeps you in the know about the latest community policing topics facing our nation. MelissaBradley 00:08 Hello and welcome. My name is Melissa Bradley, and on behalf of the COPS Office, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Cynthia Bathurst, cofounder and executive director of Safe Humane, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in the state of Illinois. The Safe Humane concept is grounded on the principle that a humane community is safer. Cynthia is here to discuss this principle in terms of dog-involved shootings. Cynthia, can you tell us a little bit about Safe Humane and how an alliance between law enforcement and community members is so important? CynthiaBathurst 00:47 Thank you, Melissa. Safe Humane's mission is to create safe and humane communities by inspiring positive relationships between people and animals. We're an alliance of nontraditional partners that recognize the benefits of the human-canine bond in furthering that mission. Our programs focus on people and dogs in communities as an important means of building a safer, more humane city and particularly[on] at-risk dogs and at-risk youth in disadvantaged communities or communities that are challenged by crimes against people and animals. One of our founding partners was the Chicago Police Department, and our focus on education, advocacy, and second chances comes from a community policing philosophy. One of our key programs is actually called collaborative justice, which uses collaborative problem solving as a means to make communities safer and more humane. You could say that a strong relationship with law enforcement is at our core. Our experience shows that that's crucial. In fact, we wouldn't be successful in our community programs without buy-in from law enforcement. Our program participants benefit from our relationship of trust and collaboration. Melissa 02:01 Thank you! Let's talk about dog-involved shootings. How and why have communities lost trust with their police departments over dog-involved shootings? Cynthia 02:12 Increasingly, police departments are under scrutiny as news media reports and social media videos and posts portray instances in which police officers shoot and kill dogs they encounter on calls. There've been high-profile instances of law enforcement officers shooting and either seriously injuring or killing dogs or making cavalier statements about a dog who is a loved member of a family and who has been shot or killed. The public's perception seems to be that an officer's service revolver is the first or only tool an officer uses in an encounter with a dog. The public believes that police departments don't take dog-involved shootings seriously. Why? Well, there's been insufficient training for officers or none at all about dog behavior, assessing a dog's environment, options for distracting a dog or diffusing a high-stress situation, or even the range of less-than-lethal options that will keep themselves, people nearby, and dogs safe. You know, in the course of producing the Police and Dog Encounter video series that we've worked on with you, we've found that police agencies are taking these shootings seriously. They do understand the importance of adequate training and public relations. States like Colorado and Illinois have passed legislation into law, mandating training for police about dogs and dog-related incidents. The liability and risk for departments and individual officers have been understated by some legal settlements, some pretty large, with owners whose dogs have been shot or killed. The time to create safer, more humane communities is now and to provide the training that departments want. That's why Safe Humane works with the Department of Justice COPS Office and the National Canine Research Council to produce the information on training video series for use by police departments, free of charge to them, by the way. Melissa 04:12 Can you talk about what culpability the community has in dog-involved shootings? Cynthia 04:18 It's very important to note that community members must work together with law enforcement to keep communities safe and humane for people and companion animals. Community members, like law enforcement officers, need to understand how to prepare for, assess, and respond to the environment in which police are called to a scene were dogs are or may be present. Dog owners and caregivers must be responsible for keeping their dogs as safe as possible, contained, or restrained so as not to be in harm's way when they know a call's been made. They should also know local ordinances and laws and abide by them. For example, having dogs on leashes, properly licensing them, ensuring they are socialized. In short, dog owners are responsible for the humane care, custody, and regulation of their dog. Melissa 05:10 What are some ways to help maintain trust in communities when police officers are called to a situation where a dog is present? Cynthia 05:19 Well, probably the best way to help maintain or build trust in communities when officers are called to a situation where a dog is present is to ensure that the officers have appropriate training, that they've been trained in the humane treatment of dogs and in tactical response strategies to ensure the safety of the officers and the public as well as the dogs. This involves training on quickly and effectively assessing a dog's environment, dog body language, typical dog behavior, no matter the size or appearance, how to distract a dog or diffuse a high-stress situation, and the range of available less- than-lethal defensive options, all while keeping themselves and those nearby safe. We're not, by the way, trying to make them into dog experts or trainers but to give them tactics that they can use. They should be trained also in gathering evidence and writing reports, and they need to know what constitutes a reasonable action in such situations. Departments probably should partner with local animal control or welfare groups as much as possible and be willing to communicate with the public that they have in place proper handling of dog-related incidents and encounters. Melissa 06:33 Cynthia, you have provided quite a bit of great and useful information. Where can listeners go to find more information about what you just shared? Cynthia 06:44 Well, the first place for listeners to go to find out more information about keeping police, other people, and dogs safe in the community is, of course, the COPS Office website at www.cops.usdoj.gov. There you'll find a link to the free-of-charge five-part video series Police and Dog Encounters with the subtitle Practical Strategies and Effective Tools to Keep Our Communities Safe and Humane. You'll also find a link to the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office publication that Safe Humane also helped to create, with others, and through a grant from the National Canine Research Council a couple of years ago. The manual is titled The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters. Then, of course, you'll find information at the website for the National Canine Research Council, easy to remember, nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com, and Safe Humane Chicago, another easy to remember, safehumanechicago.org. Melissa 07:47 Cynthia, thank you so much for your time and expertise. Cynthia 07:50 Thank you, Melissa, for having me and discussing this really very important topic. Voiceover: Beat Exit 07:56 The Beat was brought to you by the United States Department of Justice, COPS Office. The COPS Office helps to keep our nation’s communities safe by giving grants to law enforcement agencies, developing community policing publications, developing partnerships, and solving problems. Voiceover: Disclaimer 08:12 The opinions contained herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or polices of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the authors or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues.