Efficacy of VRD dogs - The inspector at the Dog Training Establishment has said he has no examples of where a VRD hindered an investigation

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Efficacy of VRD dogs - The inspector at the Dog Training Establishment has said he has no examples of where a VRD hindered an investigation

by Guest 13.05.16 10:10

This FOI was public so it will be published on the MET website at the end of the week. Pay close attention to Section 16...

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2016050000092

I write in connection with your request for information which was received by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 03/05/2016. I note you seek access to the following information:

1) Does the MET have an official stance on the efficacy of EVRD dogs, and their abilities in detecting corpses?
2) If EVRD dogs are used, could you provide any examples of cases where the dog hindered an investigation with bad alerts? .

SEARCHES TO LOCATE INFORMATION

To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within the MPS.

DECISION

This letter is to inform you that it will not be possible to respond to your request within the cost threshold. This response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please see the legal annex for further information on the exemptions applied in respect of your request.

REASONS FOR DECISION

For us to provide you with examples of cases where a Victim Recovery Dog (VRD) hindered an investigation with bad alerts and to provide you with their ability in detecting corpses would involve us having to identify and read through hundreds of investigations to find out if a VRD was involved and what there performance was.

We therefore estimate that the cost of complying with this request would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for agencies outside central Government; this is set at £450.00. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours [at a rate of £25 per hour] in determining whether the MPS holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information.

Section 16 (duty to assist)

The inspector at the Dog Training Establishment has said he has no examples of where a VRD hindered an investigation.

The MPS and other forces refer to the dogs as VRD dogs and they are all trained to the Nationally laid down standard.