I. STANDARDS.

• A) Audits will be conducted by a minimum of two auditors that are qualified in patrol, narcotics and explosive detection.
• B) If two auditors disagree on pass/fail or video validity, the video will be sent to a third industry expert for a decision.
• C) Audits may be conducted up to two times per year per K9 team.
• D) Audits will be videoed to the specifications set forth by NCATS. A demonstration video and written instructions will be provided. The completed videos will be sent to NCATS in a format that can be downloaded.
• E) All videos will be downloaded and kept by NCATS for the working life of the audited K9 team. We advise that you keep a copy of your video on a hard drive or flash drive as well.
• F) NCATS will email a printable successful audit certificate to passing teams.
• G) NCATS will provide at no cost up to 8 hours of advice and consultation from an industry expert if an audit or deployment were challenged in court.
• H) NCATS will also provide at no cost up to 8 hours of advice and consultation by an attorney specializing in police canine matters.

I) Definitions:

• 1) Auditor: a law enforcement handler that has trained 1 dog and performed a minimum of 100 deployments in the area to be audited.
• 2) Industry Expert: a law enforcement handler that has trained a minimum of 2 dogs and performed a minimum of 500 deployments in the area to be audited.
  
  

II. PATROL AUDIT GUIDELINES.

The department may set up any type scenario they wish as long as the below guidelines are followed, remember the more realistic the better.

• A) The handler will state their name and dog’s name, agency name, date and time of the video.
• B) The video must stay continuous during each exercise. There can be no stopping, re-starting or editing of the video.
• C) The auditors will give a pass or fail to each exercise. If the auditors feel any portion of the video is in question, the team must re-submit that portion of the video.
• III. SIX PATROL AUDITS: Control of the Dog, Neutral to Gunfire, Recall/Disengage, Building Search, Area Search, Apprehension and Release.

A) CONTROL OF THE DOG.

• 1) All exercises will be scored pass or fail. The auditors will have final discretion if the dog breaks position in any of the exercises.
• 2) All exercises must be passed for a successful audit certificate.
• 3) The dog must be off leash. The use of the electric collar is accepted. The handler may use the e-collar but can not hold the controller in either hand when not in use. The controller must be stored on the handler’s body. During use, the controller is never in the gun hand and the dog can show no sign of pain (i.e. yelping, excessive shying away from handler, or aggression).
• 4) The handler may communicate to the dog as often as needed to complete the task.
• 5) The handler must communicate in normal volume and conversational tone.
• 6) The handler may not have toys or food visible during the exercise.
• 7) At no time can the handler touch the dog while performing an exercise.
• 8) Course defined as: In an open area, the team will begin once the handler is ready. The team will heel forward 15-20 paces, make a left turn and heel another 15-20 paces, the team will stop and the handler will sit or down the dog for 2-3 seconds. The team will heel forward 15-20 paces, make a right turn 15-20 paces, then the team will stop and handler will down the dog. The handler will walk away from the dog 10-15 paces, turn and face the dog and recall the dog to a heel position after a 5 second pause. The handler and dog will then heel back following the same pattern to the starting position. (This is a standard chair pattern).
• *The dog must stay in heel position and not be more then arms length away from the handler. If the dog circles, forges or lags, it will be the discretion of the auditors whether the team passes or fails.

B) NEUTRAL TO GUNFIRE.

• 1) A blank gun of .22 cal or greater will be used. If there is concern that the blank rounds may cause damage to the dogs hearing, cotton may be placed in the dogs ears.
• 2) Course defined as: In an open area, the handler will heel forward with their dog off lead and the blank gun holstered or at the low ready. After 10-12 paces, the handler will raise the blank gun and fire two rounds consecutively. The handler may continue to move forward, laterally away from the dog, or stop.
• 3) The dog must remain neutral to the gunfire. The dog does not need to stay in any position such as a sit or a down. The dog must not show aggression toward the handler nor interfere with the handlers ability to shoot.

C) RECALL OR DISENGAGE.

• 1) The decoy for this exercise is allowed to wear any type of bite equipment ie. Hidden sleeve, bite suit or expose jute style sleeve.
• 2) The dog team will be placed approximately 40-50 yards away from the decoy.
• 3) Course defined as: The decoy will be around a corner and out of sight. The decoy will have a pre-planned door, vehicle, or place to run into that will not allow the dog access to bite the decoy. The handler will challenge the decoy. The decoy will step out into view of the dog and handler to ensure the dog has alerted on the decoy. The decoy may verbally respond to the handler. Once decoy ID is established, the decoy will run out of site and into the pre-determined safe hide. This hide should be accessible to the decoy within 5 seconds. After the decoy has ran out of site, the handler will pause for 5 seconds then deploy the dog. The dog must show an active pursuit toward the decoy’s last location. At a distance of 20-25 yards, the handler will recall or down the dog.
• 4) The handler may communicate to the dog with unlimited commands as needed to complete the exercise.
• 5) The use of the electric collar is permitted. The dog must not show signs of pain by the collar, (i.e. yelping or excessive change in body posture).
• 6) If the dog breaks the corner and is out of the handler’s sight, this will be a failed exercise.
• 7) If the handler uses a "down" command for a disengage, the handler can move to the dog and leash up.

D) BUILDING SEARCH.

• 1) A building no less than 800 square feet must be used and must have a minimum of 6 places for a human (decoy) to hide.
• 2) There is no set amount of time to complete the search. The auditors will determine if the time is reasonable for the search. Common sense should be used by the handler.
• 3) The decoy will be placed in the hide a minimum of 5 minutes prior to the handler’s start time. It will be up to the handler to decide the start time. A video of the decoy being placed in the hide will be completed to include the time placed. The handler will not know the location of the hide.
• 4) Announcements may be given before the search if the handler chooses to do so. All handlers should know the legal requirements of announcements on real life deployments.
• 5) The dog must be actively searching upon deployment.
• 6) The dog must be responsive to the handler’s commands. The handler must show the ability to recall and direct the dog a minimum of one time during the search.
• 7) The video must show an obvious alert to the decoy by the dog and the handler must be able to read the dog and call the correct location of the decoy. The handler will then place the dog on lead and order the decoy to show themselves. For safety purposes, it is acceptable for the decoy show themselves as minimal as possible.

E) AREA SEARCH.

• 1) An outdoor area of no less then 1500 square feet and no less then 6 places for a human (decoy) to hide.
• 2) There is no set amount of time to complete the search. The auditors will determine if the time is reasonable based upon the characteristics of the search area. Common sense should be used by the handler.
• 3) The decoy will be placed in the hide a minimum of 5 minutes prior to the handler’s start time. It will be up to the handler to decide the start time. A video of the decoy being placed in the hide as well as an overall video of the area to show the possible hides to include the time placed in the hide. The handler will not know the location of the hide.
• 4) Announcements may be given before the search if the handler chooses to do so. All handlers should know the legal requirements of announcements on real life deployments.
• 5) The dog must be actively searching upon deployment.
• 6) The dog must be responsive to the handler’s commands and show the ability to recall and direct the dog a minimum of one time during the search.
• 7) The video must show an obvious alert to the decoy by the dog and the handler must be able to read the dog and call the correct location of the decoy. The handler will then place the dog on lead and order the decoy to show themselves. For safety purposes, it is acceptable for the decoy show themselves as minimal as possible.

E) APPREHENSION AND RELEASE.

• 1) This exercise can be done in any variation the department chooses, just remember the more realistic the better.
• 2) The decoy can wear whatever bite equipment desired.
• 3) Although NCATS strongly suggests the use of a non-jute concealed sleeve, we understand some policies may require the use of bite suits. For this exercise, the bite suit or bite sleeve is acceptable.
• 4) This exercise may be done inside a building or outside.
• 5) The decoy must be placed out of site of the search start point. It is the handlers discretion to give K9 warning announcements. The handler may know the decoy’s location in order to direct the dog to the apprehension.
• 6) The decoy must be placed far enough away from the search starting point to give the dog a short search. No more than 5-10 seconds is recommended.
• 7) Once the dog has engaged the decoy, the handler will approach but remain a minimum distance of 10 feet from the dog.
• 8) Once the dog is on the bite, the handler will have a maximum of 15 seconds to verbally release the dog with unlimited commands.
• 9) The handler may not make physical contact with the dog.
• 10) The use of the electric collar is ok as long as they are permitted to have e-collars on the street. The dog must not show any signs of pain (i.e. yelping or excessive body posture change).
• 11) Once the dog has released from the bite, the handler can take physical control of the dog. A re-bite will result in a failure.

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