Prison sniffer dogs pick up on fear as well as contraband

IT’S one thing to hid illegal phones and drugs on a prison visit, but quite another to hide your fear — especially with these guys around.

Contraband sniffing dogs and trainers (from left) Katie Wright and Skip, Wayne Cunningham and Harry, Aleisha Peers, and Burt and Ellen Forsyth, and Cyrus, from Corrective Services NSW, at John Morony Prison, Berkshire Park. Picture: Justin Lloyd

• Wives and girlfriends smuggle illegal gear in their undies
• The dog with a talent not to be sniffed at

AS well as detecting illegal mobile phones and drugs, these prison sniffer dogs can smell fear.

And it is usually on the scent of visitors trying to smuggle contraband into the state’s jails — whether hidden in body cavities, pushed into bras and underpants or in waistbands.

While the dogs’ handlers are trained to watch out for suspicious body language, as the would-be smugglers get nervous their bodies usually heat up.

Individual dogs are trained to specialise in picking out the distinctive smell of tobacco, batteries, drugs, tiny USB phones, SIM cards or other contraband. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“The plume of drugs or whatever they are hiding gets bigger and the dogs pick up on it,” manager of the Corrective Services K9 Unit Sharon Charman said yesterday.

Each of the 44-strong team of dogs has its own special powers.

Whether on visitors or in jail cells, the individual dogs are trained to specialise in picking out the distinctive smell of tobacco, batteries, drugs, tiny USB phones, SIM cards or other contraband.

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Ms Charman said working dogs such as border collies, kelpies and english springer spaniels make the best sniffer dogs.

“They have the best work ethic,” she said as the dogs were put through their paces at Windsor yesterday.

The dog team is part of the elite Security Operations Group.