Data carrier sniffer dogs for the first time at the Austrian police

With their highly effective sense of smell, sniffer dogs are a strong partner for the police. Since there are now hardly any crimes without an electronic component – such as a cell phone – finding and securing evidence on data carriers is essential for criminal investigation. The newly trained data carrier sniffer dogs are specialized in precisely this sniffing activity. An important area of ​​investigation where these dogs are used is depictions of sexually abused children.

“These newly trained sniffer dogs are an important support for the investigators in the fight against the sexual abuse of children on the Internet,” said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner.

Cooperation with Bavaria

Data carriers are often small in size or disguised as everyday objects such as lipsticks, pens or lighters. Finding the hidden items requires new ways of searching. That’s why, together with the Bavarian state police, two data carrier detection dogs for the Austrian police have been trained for almost ten weeks in recent months and are now stationed in Upper Austria.

The trial operation for the use of these data storage dogs has been running since late summer. The training of ten more animals is planned. The use of specially trained dogs is intended to make it easier to secure evidence, especially with regard to online child sexual abuse.