K9 units are highly visible and create an instant psychological deterrent for would-be criminals. Potential threat actors (consider petty criminals, disgruntled employees, terrorists) who observe K9 on your property will likely opt to target different properties with lower levels of visible psychological and physical threats.

As an added benefit, we’ve learned at Securiguard that most patrons and tenants at commercial buildings react very positively to K9 security teams as they standout as an indicator of a high calibre security operation. The presence of K9 makes tenants feel safer, especially at properties where there have been occasional ground-level retail tenant crimes and parkade crimes.

A recent study showed that the introduction of K9 security to healthcare facilities in the United States resulted in a 75-80% reduction in crime and violence. It is found that the presence of a dog is often enough to deter unlawful or dangerous behaviour while promoting a more relaxed atmosphere in public spaces. Even when deployed as part of an intermittent strategy, enhancing a regular guard force, people will remember having observed regular K9 presence on site.

With a K9 unit deployed to your property, you benefit from having two unique and highly trained resources. Together, a K9 and handler team can cover more territory, detect threats in low visibility, and identify trace scents due to the K9’s enhanced sense of smell.

a. K9 handlers are equipped with both industry standard security certifications and K9 security certification, giving them a more robust set of skills to assess and mitigate security risks.

b. A single K9 team can efficiently cover as much territory as a combined 4-5 guards . They are also more effective than their human counterparts at detecting threats in low visibility environments due to their incredible sense of smell and hearing. Plus, they offer immediate de-escalation simply by virtue of their presence and/or through their ability to bark.

K9 units can detect specialized property threats that typical baseline physical or passive technology security infrastructure are simply not capable of.

Consider the following scenarios where a K9 unit can deliver high level risk detection and mitigation:

• Explosives Detection – using their 220 million scent receptors, a trained detection dog will detect and alert your security team to even the most minute trace of explosive materials on or near to your site. There are currently no available technological solutions that can detect odours with the same precision as a trained dog, according to repeated research.
• Narcotics Detection – for properties with concerns about the presence of controlled substances on site and any associated liabilities, a trained narcotics dog is highly effective in detecting trace odours and material.
• Intruder Detection – K9 units can be dispatched for alarm response or to investigate potential high-security area breaches, quickly detecting the presence of any hidden intruders through scent and/or sound. In training scenarios, single human investigators are often evaded with ease by concealed intruders, whereas a K9 detects the intruder every time.
• Casualty Detection – For crisis and emergency response, such as during a building evacuation, post-earthquake or other disaster scenario, trained emergency response K9 can rapidly detect concealed casualties.

Patrol/protection K9 units typically rely on dog breeds that deliver a physical profile indicative of potential aggression – such as German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Bloodhounds. The typical response by threat actors to your property is to immediately retreat/disengage to avoid facing a potentially lethal encounter.

Securiguard K9 units have proven to be particularly effective at clearing narrow or low-visibility stairwells and poorly-lit parkades.

Often, a single bark-on-command can achieve immediate de-escalation whereas a security professional or building manager might spend 10-15 minutes reasoning with a threat actor who refuses to leave, which exposes him/her to a risk of escalated conversation and aggression.

Securiguard’s K9 Teams are highly trained and validated above law enforcement standards, to be safe for work in social environments – they are not police dogs which are trained for direct apprehension of suspects, where aggressive behaviour is more common.

They respond not to actions, but only to the commands of their handler. As part of a safety and security program for commercial properties, K9 units often encounter high interest from patrons and tenants for interaction, demonstrations of skill and general enthusiasm and appreciation for the work they represent and the feelings of safety and calm they bring to site.

K9 unit presence is immediately noticed and appreciated by tenants and patrons as a resource that clearly delivers peace of mind while present and in turn for the positive impact on reducing unwanted activity on premises.