A single statute for police dogs

11 December 2015

On 11 December 2015, a document was signed to harmonise the statute of dog handlers within the Federal Police. This document entered into force on 1 January 2016. It was a lengthy dossier based on the entity to which the dog belongs and the dog’s ownership.

First of all, the aim of this optimisation was to join together all the dog teams (except for the Special Units with their attack dogs) into the Directorate of Dog Support. Those teams were previously spread over the front-line entities (Maritime and River Police, Railway Police, Airport Police, Highway Police) and the Special Units. The use of police vehicles, the registration of working hours and most of the allowances had to be harmonised, while offering clients more flexibility by creating ten provincial workplaces.

And by becoming the owner of the patrol dogs as well, the Federal Police wanted to erase differences with respect to costs for purchase, accommodation, care and veterinary treatment of dogs.

Finally, the dog trainers’ role, the number of dogs attributed to one dog handler, the reduced number of specialisations, the dog’s dismissal and retirement and the multi-purpose teams are all aspects of harmonisation.