Mumbai Police add six Belgian Malinois dogs to canine squad for VIP security

Mumbai faces constant security pressure, and VIPs of international stature visit the city regularly. With this in mind, Mumbai Police have begun modernising their canine, or dog, squad.

To strengthen the security cover and to detect any explosive immediately, the police have inducted six dogs of the Belgian Malinois breed into their fleet. The breed is considered extremely intelligent and aggressive.

Of the six dogs, one has successfully completed its rigorous training. The other five are currently undergoing tough training at the training centre in Shivajinagar, Pune.

The dogs are being deployed specifically for explosives detection and VIP security. Their main responsibility will be to detect potential threats and suspicious objects before a VIP arrives.

Their work includes several tasks: carrying out thorough searches of different locations under VIP security, closely examining suspicious bags and rooms, quickly inspecting open grounds and surrounding areas, and sniffing out concealed explosives precisely.

Because of their tremendous speed, remarkable agility, great physical strength and ability to respond instantly to a single command from the handler, the Belgian Malinois is regarded as the best in the world for difficult and dangerous security missions.

Mumbai Police currently have a strong squad of 30 dogs. Besides Belgian Malinois, it includes dogs of other breeds such as Labrador, German Shepherd and Doberman.

Mumbai Police first inducted five Belgian Malinois dogs in January 2019. That was seen as an important decision to build up the force's strength for special security and detection operations.

Looking ahead, the Mumbai Police are considering gradually retiring dogs of other breeds from service so that the fleet has only Belgian Malinois. Given the breed's unmatched performance, the police administration plans to hand over the lead of all important security operations in the future to this breed.