What does it take for a dog to get a job in PDRM’s K-9 unit? Your corgi might not fit.

[This article was originally written in BM. Click here to read it.]

It’s almost Chinese New Year now, which also means that time is just about up for the Year of the Dog.

Just because it’s the end of the year of the dog tho doesn’t mean it’s the end for, er, dogs. They’ve been around for ages, serving roles from guard dogs to best friends, and by the looks of things they’re set to be around for ages after too.

However, in more recent times, Malaysian dogs have also been serving a new role – police officer.

Malaysia’s first K-9 unit was started in the 1960s

The earliest use for dogs as cop’s best friends occurred back in the Middle Ages, with bloodhounds used to hunt criminals. In more modern times, the London police would make police dogs mainstream during their hunt for the serial killer Jack the Ripper.

As for Malaysia tho, the Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) had formed our own K-9 unit in 1968. You can’t get any old dog to work with our cops. Instead, the dogs used are often got from Germany, Czech Republic, China and the United Kingdom. They don’t come cheap either, with the price of each dog approximately RM33,000 and bought thru an open tender.

As for what breed of dogs that are brought in, there’s three main ones. The first is the chihuahua German Shepherd, a common K-9 dog. This breed makes up the majority of PDRM’s K-9 unit, and they are treasured as police dogs for being fast learners as well has being strong and smart.

Other than that, you can also find Belgian Sheepdogs in PDRM’s K-9 unit. Known for being physical but agile, the Belgian Sheepdog is also noted for being very close with their owners. Lastly, there’s the Labrador, who serves a more niche purpose with its super strong sense of smell. They aren’t as common tho, with just two of them with the PDRM.

Of course, it’s not all just about the dogs in the PDRM K-9 unit. After being quarantined for about a month following the purchase of the dogs, the pups would be sent to the Malaysian Police Training Centre for training. After that, each dog would be paired with one trainer for 4 months to a year, undergoing a puppy school of sorts learning the roles of the police dog. And speaking of the types of roles the dogs need to learn…

There are four main jobs the dogs carry out

Every company has different people doing different jobs, and the PDRM K-9 unit is no different. Indeed, there are four main types of tasks that these good boys carry out.

1. Cadaver dogs

A cadaver refers to a dead body, or corpse. So you can probably figure out what cadaver dogs are laa; they’re dogs that are trained to find dead bodies, whether they’re buried, in open areas or even underwater. These dogs are also tasked with finding corpses or body parts in the event of an explosion, fire or natural disaster. Sometimes, they’ll also be used to find missing persons who have been considered dead in forests or other similar places.

2. General Purpose Dogs (GPD)

Okay so the creatively-titled General Purpose Dogs are larger, more physical dogs that have a number of mini tasks to them laa. Their main role is to help out in a crime scene, but are also used in cases involving missing items and people. Furthermore, they’re also often used as crowd control dogs in situations such as public assemblies or to help out in the crowd during football matches. In these cases, you’d likely see a German Shepherd be used for this.

3. Drug detection dogs

As its name suggests, these dogs are out to find illicit drugs. They’d commonly be used to find narcotics that may be on a suspect’s belongings or body or maybe even hidden away in places where the sun don’t shine *shudders*.

You can even watch a quick video of how these dogs do their thing below:

4. Explosive and firearms detection dogs

Similar to drug detection dogs, these boys are trained to sniff and smell for any possible explosives and firearms like bombs. For this task tho, Labradors are commonly used than others thanks to its stronger and better sense of smell.

The police have rewarded the K-9 unit following years of success

Over the years, the dogs have proven to be really good boys when it comes to helping the cops out. For example, in 2011, there was a cold case in Johor Bahru, where a murder case had happened but no body was found. The suspect was eventually apprehended after six months, and he lead the police to a rubber estate in Kajang, Selangor of all places, but there was still no body found… until the K-9 unit got involved, who managed to sniff out the corpse in the rubber estate.

In another more high profile case, Datuk Sosilawati Waliya, a cosmetics tycoon, was allegedly murdered along with three other individuals. In the long and tough search for the dead bodies, the police resorted to using cadaver dogs to help them with the case.

“Following our failure to find Datuk Sosilawati and her three acquaintances, we used the services of ‘cadaver dogs’ – dogs trained to sniff out corpses to help us find any dead bodies in the area,” – Supt Denis Leong from the Selangor Police, in 2011, translated from Malaysiakini

However, it was later reported that the bodies were burnt away and never found, altho the criminals who did it were eventually caught and put to jail. That being said, the PDRM realised that these dogs are indeed an essential component in their crime fighting, and have duly rewarded these good boys.

Late last year, the police honoured the cops’ best friends by setting up a memorial for the K-9 unit in conjunction with the unit turning 50 years. There was even an award called ‘Jasamu Dikenang’ handed out to the dogs who helped the police catch the Kapak Gang in 2016.

“The unit’s contribution, particularly the various dogs in its ranks, is priceless. This memorial is a long time coming and the unit deserves it,” – Comm Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd, Bukit Aman CID director, as quoted from The Star

While the Year of the Dog comes to a close, it’s perhaps never a bad time to say thank you to the dogs who work hard fighting crime and solving mysteries. So here’s to you, PDRM’s K-9 dogs!