Canadian Criminal Evidence/Model Examinations/Dog Tracking Experts

Qualifying Expert

Counsel will attempt to make two qualifications: the dogmaster in the field of interpreting the actions of the dog, and the dog in tracking human scents or drug scents.

duration the dogmaster has been member of force / duration the dogmaster has been with dog team / duration the dogmaster has been with <dog>
Dogmaster training course / duration / coverings tracking of human scents or drugs
prior experience qualified giving evidence in court as dogmaster / prior testimony with current dog
dog breed of <dog> / relevance of breed to tracking / ability of breed to track
method of tracking / method of communicating
whether training is needed / history of training of dog / whether with dogmaster or with others
performance on simulated and real cases
how dogmaster learns particular communication style of <dog>
on-going training / frequency
duration <dog> has been tracking / number of investigations used for
success rate / false positives

Subject to cross-examination, counsel will then request the dogmaster and dog be qualified as experts.

Methodology

how dogmaster communicates to dog (types of signals)
how dog communicates with dogmaster (types of signals)
dogs ability to follow scents
effects of environment (terrain, climate, obstacles, persons etc) / types of distractors
possibility of dog losing scent / reasons
possibility of dog catching scent of another track that crosses first track

Tracking Evidence

dogmaster responds to request for services / time of request
time and location that the dog was deployed (use map)
commands or signals communicated to the dog
response from the dog / interpretation of the response
route traveled during tracking (draw on map)
whether there were other people discovered during track
further signals given to dog during tracking
further signals given from dog during tracking
any item(s) or person(s) found / identification of person
opinion of relevance of item or person found / signals from dog relevant to discovery
what happened to item or person