Use of Police Dogs in the Polish Police in the Opinion of Dog Handlers

The aim of this article is to evaluate the current situation as regards the use of dogs for various police duties in Poland based on the results of the research conducted by the author at the Police Academy in Szczytno as part of the research task, financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, entitled “Efficiency of the use of police dogs in the Polish Police”. The author has decided to deal with the subject matter in view of alarming statistics, which show a decrease in the number of police dogs. This fact has led the author to make an assumption formulated as the following research hypothesis: Nowadays, in Poland the use of police dogs in not adequate for the sake of public order and safety. The main research method has been a diagnostic survey using a tool in the form of a questionnaire. The survey has been addressed to a group of 154 dog handlers, most of whom work with a patrol and tracker/sniffer dog from three police garrisons, covering the territory of the following provinces: Kujavia-Pomerania, Podlasie and Lubuskie region. The author believes that the research findings indicate the need for changes in this respect, which should involve implementation of new systemic, organisational and legal solutions