|
SOKKS-MPTS™ was developed by Prof. Dr. Wolf A. Kafka , Germany in close co-operation with the Landespolizei Bayern (Bavarian State Police). Dog handlers were involved from the beginning, as was the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees police functions in Germany.
The objective of the research was to find a way to train quality detector dogs, while eliminating many of the hazards associated with conventional training. SOKKS-MPTS™ proved to be a perfect marriage between science and police. It is the first time that a training system is based on biological reactions and physiology as opposed to a purely chemical solution. SOKKS™ also provides the purest odour available.
A demonstration for the news media was held at the Munich International Airport where SOKKS™ trained dogs for the first time demonstrated their prowess in public. By that time 64 explosive detector dogs had already been trained on SOKKS™.
The Norfolk, Virginia Police Department was offered the opportunity to be the first to evaluate SOKKS™ in the United States and the system has been in successful service with their Narcotics Unit since October 1997. In that same month a blind trial was conducted with the NYPD's Bomb Squad. Three certified EDD's were exposed to SOKKS™ and, while none of them were ever trained on Octogen, all three dogs found it and gave a proper final response. This is another proof of the systems validity and affirms the overlapping of the explosive odour spectrum.
SOKKS™ is a standard now in use in the German Munich FJS-Airport, in the Austrian Bundesausbildungsstelle fur Diensthundefuhrer of the Ministry of Interior Inners, Gendarmerie Zentralkommando, Austria Australia, Philippines and now in Munich Spain. The total number of SOKKS trained and officially certified K-9's now exceeds 260 (147 Drug, 108 Explosive, 6 Cadaver, 1 Arson). All K-9's are in active service with police departments and all were trained by the respective agencies.
|
