FIRST TRAINING SCHOOL FOR POLICE DOGS OPENS

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Police dogs often perform difficult tasks that human officers cannot at various accident and disaster sites, such as detecting bombs and drugs and searching for missing people. A school that trains such police dogs opened for the first time in Korea.

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​[Soundbite] "GO! GO!"

A dog nimbly jumps over several obstacles, some that come even higher than a person's waist. Another canine sniffs around parked vehicles before finding something.

[Soundbite] "EXPLOSIVES!"

A training center dedicated to grooming intelligent and capable police dogs has opened in Daejeon. It's the first of its kind in Korea. Currently, 11 dogs are in training here. When they complete the 16-week program, they will be assigned to their respective areas. Police dogs were first introduced in Korea in 1973. They were called "investigation dogs." Today, 150 police dogs are deployed to SWAT teams and CSI units in 13 regions across the country. The canine officers fulfill their duties in various fields from hunting down suspects to drug and explosive detection. Last December, Tango from the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency became the first police dog to receive an insignia for playing a vital role in a search operation. In the past, each local police agency conducted its own police dog training program. But from now on the newly launched training center will teach, then assign the dogs in accordance with their skill sets.

[Soundbite] MIN GAB-RYONG(COMMISSIONER, NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY) : "The center will identify and analyze the different needs for police dogs and train them systematically to meet those needs."

The training center can handle up to 80 dogs together. The police plans to adopt more advanced equipment to upgrade the facility's training capability.