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Irish prisons get three new detector dogs to sniff out drugs, alcohol and phones

The dogs will join a small group of others in identifying visitors trying to smuggle drugs and other contraband into jails and prisoners using them.

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Three new drug detection dogs have completed training and been deployed in Irish jails to sniff out contraband.

Labradors Rinty, Ruby and Healy and their three prison officer handlers had their “passing out” ceremony following a seven-week course in narcotic scent detection.

The dogs will join a small group of others in identifying visitors trying to smuggle drugs and other contraband into jails and prisoners using them.

‘We have security measures in place to protect the dogs’

“The dog is a very valuable asset to the organisation. A dog can do what a human or a machine cannot — detect drugs by scent,” assistant governor of the canine unit Jeremiah Murray told the Sunday Independent.

The three new canines and their handlers will be involved in passive screening of visitors as well as so-called active work, which involves intelligence-led cell searches and patrolling prison perimeters for contraband stashed or thrown over walls.

Mr Murray said the dogs’ safety is of paramount importance to the Irish Prison Service, and added: “We have security measures in place to protect them.”

An imprisoned criminal reportedly put a bounty on the head of a particularly prolific prison drug detection dog, but has there ever been a viable threat to any of the animals?

“I cannot comment on that,” Mr Murray said.

The three new canine with handlers are the first recruits to the unit since Covid struck. Them pandemic meant prison visits were halted and the need for sniffer dogs decreased.

Mr Murray said: “Each dog and its handler forms a team. The course they undertook ran for seven weeks. We run the courses in-house with expert instructors. It’s extremely arduous. They train in different environments. The bond is essential between the dog and its handler.”

‘Labradors are very intelligent and resilient. They’re working dogs’

The new dogs have been trained in “narcotics scent detection” and will eventually be trained to detect other illegal contraband.

“They will be trained to detect prison hooch, alcohol and mobile phones. We constantly retest and retrain the dogs,” Mr Murray said. Most of the dogs in the unit are Labradors as they are “obedient, quiet and good with people”.

“Labradors are very intelligent and resilient dogs. They bond with their handler easily enough. They’re working dogs. They love to work and learn. I’m immensely proud to be part of this unit.”

Visitors must pass ‘canine security’, which involves the dogs examining visitors

Two of the three new dogs came from rehoming agencies, while the third was bought. They have been assigned to various jails with their handlers, and the dogs will live on site.

For their own protection, they have no interaction with the prison population.

“Cell searches and others within the prison grounds, these are carried out without inmates present. The prisoners don’t get to see the dogs,” Mr Murray said, and added that they are there to protect visitors as well, as some people are forced to smuggle drugs into the jail under threat.

Visitors attending closed prisons must first go through airport-style metal detectors. They then pass through “canine security”, which involves dog teams examining visitors, though not intrusively.

The dogs have “indicators” they relay to their handlers if they detected drugs.

“Primarily, it’s a sit, or the dog will freeze or it will lie down. There are also little nuances between each dog and its handler,” Mr Murray said.

“The dog is a deterrent. Its role is to try and detect contraband. The Canine Unit is there to protect visitors, inmates and those of us in this workplace.”