NCTAS Intro Flashcards
All police dogs must be trained in accordance with the: (NCTAS)
National Canine Training Accreditation Scheme
Legislation to consider:
- Section 3 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
- Article 2 Human Rights Act 1998 (Prohibition of Torture)
- Section 3 criminal Law Act 1967 (use of force in making an arrest)
- Section 117 PACE (Power of Constable to use reasonable force)
- Common Law
- Animal Welfare Act 2018
Chief Constables should have procedures in place that enable staff and officers to report concerns regarding
Unprofessional behaviour so as to secure the welfare of police dogs and identify any mistreatment.
Chief Constables should also have a policy that allows veterinary surgeons to report
Any concerns that they may have regarding a police dog
Managing risk in training - all employers must have a legal understanding of
Health and Safety at work act 1974
Management of health and safety work regulations 1999 (amended 2006)
Any development training hours will not be counted towards the minimum contact hours on the initial course and
Will fall under the period of new learning criteria
All equipment used should be appropriate to the task at hand and used by appropriately trained staff.
This will be evidenced within the staff members CPD PORTFOLIO
The decision to use or not use certain equipment will be at the forefront of every decision made.
The decision to use or not use equipment will be made in line with the NDM and comply with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and other NPCC standards
Equipment may be divided into 6 categories:
- Personal equipment
- Kennel equipment
- Training equipment
- Protective equipment
- General equipment
- Tactical equipment
A dog nudges an item and then gives a sit indication.
Is acceptable
A dog nudges an item and then gives a sit indication but continue to nudge the bag.
Is not acceptable
All police dog training is based around the use of
Positive reinforcement
The method of reward for the dog will depend on
What the dog finds most rewarding
The minimum standard applied to care and treatment of dogs is defined under
The animal welfare act 2006
Police officers should be accountable for their actions under
The code of ethics and other standards of professional behaviour
In some certain trading roles it may be necessary to place the dog under controlled pressure
In order to prepare for the reality of police work
Specific training for general patrol dogs should be deliberately designed to test and develop the dog’s
Confidence, aggression and ability to deal with any situation
Confidence development may include:
Crowd control and bite work exercises
Training session should not be designed to
Confuse the dog or make it think that it is being corrected or punished
The training goal is to
Teach the dog to work through pressure, despite resistance from the criminal and actively fight back
Training sessions should only be undertaken
Under supervision of an NPCC instructor.
Section 9 of the animal welfare act 2018 states dogs need to
- Be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns
- It’s need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease
Complaints can be through
PSD, or as a bespoke system within the dog unit
Repetition is often needed by police dogs and they often learn by?
Trial and error
Making errors is a
Significant part of the learning process
The period of new learning consists of
A learning and development phase
Most police dog training occurs through the process of
Operant conditioning
Formative assessment is assessment of learning and is used to help dogs become competent against the eventual specific assessment criteria. Pass or fail should not be used and examples of such formative assessments methods include: (5)
- Exposure to similar scenarios
- Adjustments of criteria so success is more likely
- Adjustment of criteria so success is more likely
- Repetition to ensure reliability
- Adjustment of reasonably anticipated factors within criteria
A dog team progressing to the formative stage will be documented, allowing: (3)
- Progress to be monitored
- All members of the training team be cognisant of training
- Appropriate feedback to the student
Summative assessment is an assessment of competence and is measured in
- The specific assessment criteria, as identified in NCTAS, ensuring minimum standard is achieved
- The specific assessment criteria identified by the instructor
Failure to meet the minimum standard during summative assessment will result in
- Feedback
- Withdrawal of licence
- Removal from operational duties
- Development plan
- Formalised assistance from training
All dog teams must undergo and be deemed competent against the relevant
Accreditation criteria
Failure to accredit and licence withdrawal, training records may comply with the more often than not principle and at the discretion of the instructor
May be allowed to retake the assessment on the same day
Decisions about failure to accredit should be made
Within 24 hours in writing
Exercise and treatments for dogs can include:
- Swimming
- Physiotherapy
- Nose work conditioning
- HIIT
- Hydrotherapy
Should a dog that chooses to accredit under NCTAS but fail to accredit, they will be subject to
The licence withdrawal section
The training manager can be
Any rank
A civilian
The training manager should
- Have a clear understanding of NCTAS
- Have a clear understanding of police dog app
- Maintain an effective and accurate audit of the delivery of training
- Oversee risk management
- Meet all NPCC needs
- Level 3 adult learning course
- Ensure portfolios are maintained
Identifying risks:
Equipment - should be fit for purpose
Activity - subject of a specific assessment
Location - site specific risk assessment
People - who may be harmed
Dog - what they present and what could harm them
What sets out an ideal order to follow when planning to reduce the risk of activities?
The leadership and worker toolkit
Risk assessment changes should be reviewed and may include changes to:
- Personnel
- Technology
- Process
- Environment
- Experiences (near misses)
Risk assessors should be competent in:
Hazard identification
Knowledge of the process
SOPs are?
Standard operating procedures
Sops may include:
Design and delivery and training evaluation
Selection of officers
Selection of dogs
Student to instructor ratio are max
5 to 1
Any developmental training hours will not be counted towards
Minimum contract hours on an initial course
Developmental training will fall under
The period of new learning criteria
The number of training hours logged on a day will not fall below
5 hours
For training days of 8 hours or less, the maximum number of hours logged will be
6 hours
For training days longer than 8 hours, the max number of training hours logged will be
7 hours, due to fatigue etc
