BASIC CANINE CONTRABAND PRINCIPLES:

A) Definition of contraband:

• Anything that is illegal to possess.

B) Odor and lingering odor:

• It is a scientific fact that dogs alert to the odor of the target;
  
  
• Lingering odor: Odor that lingers with no residue / product present;
  
  
• Residual odor: Odor coupled with residue that can be seized, quantified, tested, presented to a court, etc.

Behavior analysis scientists have confirmed that dog’s alert to odor. When a dog is trained to detect a substance, it learns to discriminate the odor vapor of that substance from other odors in the environment by reacting to the compound(s) that best help it earn reinforcement from the handler. With sufficient training, the compound(s) whose detection most often results in reinforcement become the “odor detection signature.”

Odor detection signatures cannot always be accurately predicted based upon the chemistry of the material. Identification of odor detection signatures can allow for better selection of training aids, suggest ways for improving training, and most importantly, explain false positive alerts.

 

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