We must end the practice of using dogs in policing. At the very least, we must stop (1) training dogs tasked with bomb sniffing and search and rescue missions to bite; (2) using dogs for drug enforcement, arrest and apprehension, and cell extraction; and (3) criminalizing the natural human instinct to resist a dog attack. Every level of government can act on ending the use of dogs in policing or, in the alternative, restricting their use. At the local level, municipalities can phase out the use of canines or stop funding canine programs altogether. At the state level, legislators and advocates can design bills prohibiting the use of dogs in policing. At the federal level, legislators and advocates can support bills that would end the use of police dogs by federal agencies, encourage or require federal investigation of law enforcement agencies that use dogs to attack individuals, and/or provide incentives for state and local agencies to stop using police dogs.
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