Dogs in Bomb-Detecting Harnesses Help NYPD Patrol the City
If you live in or travel to New York City on a regular basis, you’ve probably seen police canines roaming around the subway system with some very unique harnesses on lately. Make no mistake about it, they’re not wearing these harnesses as part of some type of fashion statement, nor are the harnesses designed to protect the dogs in the same way that a bulletproof vest would. Instead, the harnesses utilize some of the most advanced technology to have ever come along, focusing on the use of electronics to help detect bombs. In conjunction with well-trained canines, this type of system is making it safer to travel on the subway. As a matter of fact, the police department is gaining a great deal of attention for implementing this particular system. In all likelihood, it is a system that will eventually become commonplace around the world. New York City just happens to be the first police department in the United States to start using it.
New Technology Makes It Safer to Travel
Known as TREDD, or Transit Enhanced Dog Detection, this is easily one of the most advanced bomb detection systems in use in the world. Essentially, it couples well-trained bomb-sniffing police canines with specialized electronics that are designed for the express purpose of detecting the electronic signals sent off by bombs and other explosives. The idea is to make traveling on New York City’s subway system safer by implementing the new technology into vests that are worn by the canines. The dogs and their handlers then descend on the subway system to ensure the safety of travelers. You might think of the electronic system as an extra backup system to the abilities that are already displayed by the canines. By combining the two, it’s far less likely that something could potentially be missed. It also works well for those individuals who have put forth the effort to make their bombs more difficult to detect through either one method or the other. By using two distinctly different methods and then combining them, it’s much more difficult for someone to plant an explosive device on the subway system. The end result is that people who use the system to travel don’t have to worry as much about a potential terrorist attack. The technology that is incorporated into the vests also has wide-reaching implications for future use around the world.
How Does It Work?
If you’re wondering exactly how the system works, you’re certainly not alone. In short, the harness that is being worn by bomb-sniffing dogs enables them to detect certain types of things that they cannot detect by scent alone. As a matter of fact, these vests have sensors that go off whenever radiation is detected. They also detect biological and chemical agents that cannot be picked up by the dog alone. Someone at a remote command center is looking at the sensors that are worn on the harness and can alert the dog’s handler if one of the sensors starts to go off in real time. In short, it’s basically like taking the already amazing skills of a bomb-sniffing dog and then kicking those skills up by several notches. It makes it much more difficult for a would-be terrorist to plant a bomb in the subway system by using some types of materials that would be impossible for a dog to pick up through scent. If they’re using any type of chemical or biological agent, the sensors will go off, thereby alerting the dog and its handler that something is wrong. By the same token, any device that utilizes radiation to set off an explosive as opposed to using standard TNT or C-4 will also trigger the sensors. At the same time, the dogs themselves are able to sniff out more traditional bombs. The idea is to make it much more difficult for terrorists to plant an explosive in the subway. It also makes it far more likely that anything that is planted there will be detected before a problem occurs.
Paving the Way
As previously mentioned, the New York City Police Department is the only entity in the world that is currently utilizing this advanced technology. The first time they ever used it was several years ago, back in 2015. At the time, they were preparing for a visit from the Pope and they knew they had to have technology that was second to none. Since then, they’ve gone to great lengths to expand and perfect this technology, adding to it as newer technology has become available. Now, they’re capable of using it daily on the subway system. They can also use it for virtually any other event or potential issue that occurs, whenever the need arises. The beauty of it is that one individual can sit in the aforementioned remote command post and send several teams to different areas. That particular individual knows exactly where every team is and what they are seeing in real time. This gives the police department an opportunity to try and stay a step ahead of would-be terrorists, especially in a situation where there is a bomb threat that suggests that several devices have been planted in different areas around the city. It’s no longer necessary to check those areas one-by-one and hope that nothing has been missed. Instead, police can be deployed to several areas at one time, conducting a thorough canine and electronic search in order to discover whether or not the threat is credible. If it is, they can then isolate the area and call in the bomb squad to safely dispose of the device. Clearly, this is technology that will eventually become commonplace around the world. In reality, it’s almost shocking that more police departments and government entities haven’t already adopted it. Obviously, the use of technology like this doesn’t come cheap. New York City Police Department has paid a premium to ensure that their technology is effective and that it stays updated. However, it’s hard to justify cost as a reason not to do something when you’re talking about potentially saving the lives of hundreds or even thousands of individuals. As such, there is no doubt that it will become far more common within the next few years.
