K9 Security: 8 Benefits for School, Hospital, and Corporate Security Administrators

Are you hesitant to hire a K9 security team? If you’re a security administrator, you’re not alone.

School, hospital, and corporate security administrators falsely think that adding K9 security teams to their security protocol increases expenses and liabilities. Security administrators would rather stay with the status quo: hire an armed/unarmed guard and install the latest security technology. The reasoning seems logical: security guards are vetted, and technology is state-of-the-art.

But this reasoning has three flaws:

1. Potential liability includes loss of lives because unarmed guards don’t have an effective way to stop a perpetrator.

2. Armed guards are a liability because under stress, their hit rates are consistently poor.

3. The latest technology continues to be passive—technology isn’t mobile and, at best, can only alert the police, not prevent a threat.

K9 security teams: a practical and effective solution. A K9 security team is mobile, highly responsive, and a visual deterrent to any perpetrator.

The biggest advantage of having a K9 security team is that it can respond at every level in the “use of force” continuum—in just seconds. Take a look at the use of force continuum chart.

The canine can respond up or down the continuum, within seconds, depending on the perpetrator’s actions. Let’s walk through the eight benefits of adding a K9 security team to your school, hospital, or corporate environment.

Benefit 1: Dogs are a visual deterrent

Often, just the presence of a dog can deter someone from acting unlawfully or dangerously. Dogs can deter aggressive behavior by their demeanor and their bark. They can even help maintain order and promote a friendly atmosphere during business hours and activities.

Benefit 2: Canine reaction is faster than police response time

Benefit 2: Canine reaction is faster than police response time

Consider these statistics:

• As of 2013, the reported national average for police response time was 11 minutes.
• In rural areas, an in-house, on-duty K9 security unit can greatly reduce or eliminate the typical response times of 30-45 minutes from state police.

This kind of security is unquestionably priceless. K9 security teams engage perpetrators immediately—before the police arrive. This gives everyone a few extra seconds or even minutes to escape a dangerous situation.

Benefit 3: Canines offer speed

Security canines can run up to 30 mph.

Why is speed an important factor? Because the perpetrator is dealing with lots of psychological factors in the heat of the moment, and a fast-moving dog is extremely difficult for a perpetrator to target accurately. Canines don’t have this barrier. Remember, the dog is naturally focused on anything or anyone moving. For decades, dogs have been used in combat to help protect our military personnel in dangerous situations.

In most cases, the dog will prevail; it’s in a dog’s DNA to accomplish its goal: to make sure it defeats the perpetrator.

Benefit 4: Canines are useful in a wide variety of situations

Security directors and administrators are looking for additional security solutions because the standard protocols aren’t working. Security canines can cover a large space quickly due to their speed and mobility. In fact, one canine can cover as much territory as four to five security guards. Metal detectors, surveillance systems, and the like are great, but they’re passive. Someone who has a gun, and who is intent on using it, will use it. When things come down to a matter of seconds . . . what will happen?

How are you going to counteract the threat?

What will people do?

How does that issue get addressed?

Canines are a positive alternative. Furthermore, security canines are trained to detect gunpowder. If someone at a school or hospital has a concealed gun, the canine will alert the canine handler. Then, if necessary, the handler can command the canine to attack the perpetrator.

Benefit 5: A K9 team is a security measure that works

Trained security canines are more effective than people or machines because of their senses of smell and hearing. They can detect strange noises and unusual odors. When a trained security canine hears or smells gunfire, it can detect the origin of the gunfire more accurately than humans can.

Additionally, compared with bomb-detecting robots, dogs are mobile. Surveillance cameras, on the other hand, are stationary, limiting their range of view and the type of activity captured.

In 2010, after spending six years and $19 billion on research to develop better bomb-detecting technology, Pentagon officials admitted that dogs’ noses were still superior to their most sophisticated technology. (Source: New Atlas)

Benefit 6: Security canines are safe to be around

Only one out of every 10 dogs will pass the test needed to work in a variety of social environments. These dogs must accept being petted by a wide range of people and must not react aggressively, but they also must be ready to go into defensive mode when the situation warrants. K9 teams do not use typical police dogs, which tend to be less social.

A trained canine will always turn to its handler for command and control before reacting. A confident dog will chase and attack only on command—or if the dog or its handler is physically attacked first. A security canine is never frenzied and can be called off immediately and without question.

Benefit 7: K9 security is cost-efficient

A single K9 team (one canine plus one handler) can provide the same coverage as five security guards.

That means a K9 security team is more cost-efficient than traditional security guards because:

• You’re paying for fewer people.
• You’re paying lower insurance premiums for canines versus armed guards.
• You lower your liability (in the short and long terms).
• Your return on investment is higher because a K9 security team—versus an armed or unarmed security guard—can cover more ground, deter and apprehend the perpetrator, and be a visual deterrent for everyday security issues.

Benefit 8: Canines go after perpetrators without hesitation

K9 security teams are better than most armed guards, because they will go after a perpetrator without hesitation. In highly stressful situations, armed guards might hesitate to act appropriately. Confused by too many conflicting thoughts, they may fail to focus on stopping the perpetrator. Or worse—they might shoot someone who is innocent. In addition, security canines get praised for going after the perpetrator; to them, it’s a positive experience.

Do security canines bite people?

Administrators might be wondering about the liability of dogs biting people. The simple answer is, these canines won’t bite unless it’s a life-threatening situation. The canines I use in schools, hospitals, and corporations are raised and trained both to be people-friendly and to go into defense mode as the need arises. Trained security canines are not your typical police dogs, which are trained to be defensive. The security canines my company uses come from Eastern Europe, including Czech Republic and Slovakia. Most are German shepherds, but some are Belgian Malinois. The dogs from these areas have a solid nerve threshold, and you can rely on them to keep you safe. These dogs have a special temperament that allows them to deal with the public 24 hours a day. The dogs I use at K9 X-Factor have been tested in all capacities and have nerves of steel. They can be trusted with children and are never bullying or dominant. They have nothing to prove because they know they can handle any security situation that should arise.

Are you content staying with the status quo in your security protocols?

Or are you willing to explore the benefits of adding a K9 security team to your environment?

Next step

Mark Bosque is a security consultant and owner of K9 X-Factor in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. His company can reduce hospital and school security concerns with canine security teams.

K9 X-Factor partners with hospitals and schools seeking an alternative approach to protecting their employees while reducing expensive liability issues related to having armed security guards.

K9 X-Factor is unique because your hospital or school gets “friendly first” dogs without sacrificing patients’, students’ and employees’ safety. Other canine security companies use dogs that are rewarded to go after a threat. While that can be useful in dangerous situations, those dogs lack the social temperament to be people-friendly.

K9 X-Factor dogs are friendly with all people—including children and seniors—and are trained to address threats instantly.

Visit our website for more information.

Whether you want to buy a canine or lease a security canine team from K9 X-Factor, message me to see if a canine security team is right for you.