- Scent Dog Programme gets results
When an Anchorage, Alaska nurse went missing in 2007 and was found dead six weeks later, the FBI Laboratory’s Evidence Response Team Unit (ERTU) was called in and asked to bring some experts—specially trained human scent evidence canines Tinkerbelle, Lucy, and Casey. Following human scent trails from several places linked to the killing, the dogs kept ending up at the same location—the house of a man who lived near the victim.
The neighbour was eventually charged with the murder. In a pre-trial hearing his lawyer challenged the science behind the scent evidence and asked that it be thrown out. The presiding judge ruled that the science was indeed sound, and fully admissible in court. But last February, the man was said to have pleaded guilty to the killing and was sentenced to life without parole.
Human scent evidence has been used in federal court before. However, the federal court judge’s ruling sets an important precedent—and by extension acknowledges the Bureau’s efforts to promote the highest standards when scent dogs are used in investigations.
The use of dogs by law enforcement is nothing new. Bloodhounds have traditionally been called upon to pick up the trail of fugitives and missing persons. FBI police and ERT special agent bomb technicians use dogs trained to sniff for explosives, and they have victim recovery dogs trained specifically to seek out the smell of blood and decomposing bodies.
But Vigilance learnt authoritatively that the Human Scent Evidence Team (HSET), established in 2002 and now a full-time programme in the ERTU, is something of a new breed. After they are trained and certified—a process that can take two to three years—HSET dogs can help point investigators in the right direction when time and resources may be in limited supply—and their efforts may later be scrutinized in the courtroom.
Here’s how the programme works:
- At the crime scene, in addition to collecting fingerprints, DNA, and other evidence, ERT technicians collect scents by using a trace evidence vacuum similar to those used for collection of hair and fibres. Human scent traces, which can be obtained from almost any object, are vacuumed onto a sterile surgical dressing and placed in an airtight glass jar (they can be stored that way for an extended period of time).
- Dogs are trained to smell the collected scent by sniffing the scent pad and indicating either a scent match or a non-match. If there is a matching trail of human odour, the dog will follow an invisible “odour highway” in the same way humans might recognize streets, roadways, and intersections.
- In most cases handlers know nothing about the cases they are called in to work. They are simply given a scent pad and asked to follow a trail if one is found.
Stockham is working with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to establish a uniform set of training and certification standards that would apply to all scent dogs used in investigations.
“Our goal is to promote a science-driven program with the highest standards of training, certification, and professionalism,” Stockham explained. “It’s part of the FBI Laboratory’s commitment to provide exceptional forensic science services to our federal, state, local, and international law enforcement partners.
About Evidence Response Team Unit
Mission
The Evidence Response Team Unit (ERTU) enables FBI field office Evidence Response Teams (ERTs) to collect evidence supporting FBI priority investigations in a professional, competent, and systematic manner by providing ERTs with training, equipment, and forensic expertise.
The Program
The program consists of ERTs in all 56 FBI field offices. These highly-trained and equipped teams, totaling about 1,200 personnel, operate at a high level of competence to ensure evidence is collected in such a manner that it can be introduced in courts throughout the U.S. and the world. ERTs strive to be the model for crime scene processing from the standpoint of safety, expertise, training, equipment, and ability.
The Team
Supervisory special agents, mechanical engineer, logistics management specialist, forensic K9 operations specialist, management and program analyst, and assistants.
The Work
- Provide training, crime scene equipment and supplies, and on-scene support to field ERTs and coordination for response at national and international special events;
- Provide basic forensic evidence instruction to new agents training classes and to the National Academy, as well as advanced forensic training for all field ERT personnel;
- Provide canine/handler teams to assist federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies;
- Develop new ERT software to collect and record information and print records relating to the crime scene for use in court proceedings.
- Oversee the FBI’s Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team (USERT) program and the FBI’s Human Scent Evidence Team (HSET). USERTs in several FBI field offices provide an underwater search capability with trained divers and sophisticated equipment to assist underwater search and recovery for evidence and human remains. The HSET is based at the ERTU and provides capability to track persons associated with certain items of evidence through the use of specially trained canines.
Evidence Response Team (ERT)
Mission
The Evidence Response Team (ERT) mission is to identify, document, collect, and preserve evidence supporting all FBI cases. These highly-trained and equipped teams operate at a high level of competence to ensure evidence is collected in such a manner that it can be introduced in courts throughout the U.S. and the world. ERTs strive to be the model for crime scene processing from the standpoint of safety, expertise, training, equipment, and ability. The ERT can provide assistance in any area of evidence collection management from traditional search warrants to complex crime scenes. ERTs are especially valuable dealing with large or complicated scenes, cases with multiple scenes, and cases that are multi-jurisdictional. When resources permit, and Special Agents in Charge (SAC) authorize, ERTs can assist other agencies by processing crime scenes, conducting searches, and providing training courses.