DOG SCENT LINE-UPS FAIL THE ACCURACY TEST

We all know that dogs have tremendous power to smell. We’ve heard numerous stories of dogs find lost people or track down criminals. Those of us old enough, remember the TV hero, Lassie who could find anyone or anything.

But recently law enforcement officers have initiated a new way to use dogs. Its called a dog scent line-up. It involves swabbing six individuals, one of whom is a suspect of a crime. Having a dog sniff an item associated with the crime. Then the swabs are places in individual cans. The dog smells the cans and theoretically picks the one taken from the individual associated with the crime. Does it work? Sometimes. But, using current techniques, not often enough to be trustworthy.

Take the example of Michael Buchanek, a twenty five year veteran of the Victoria County, Texas Sheriff’s Department. He was falsely accused of murdering his neighbor based on dog scent evidence. For five months he faced murder charges. He was cleared only when DNA evidence indicated the guilt of another person who was convicted of the murder.

In another case Juan Ramos spent five years on Florida’s death row for raping, beating, strangling, stabbing and killing an acquaintance. before the state’s Supreme Court found that the dog scent evidence was not trustworthy. In that case the dog, “Harass” sniffed Ramos’ cigarette pack and then was put in a room with five knives and five blouses. The dog then picked the blouse and the knife associated with the victim. Of course they were the only items in the room which had blood on them.

In one study in the Journal of Forensic Science by Lisa M. Harvey et al cited in a Hot Cup of Joe it was discovered that where the “suspect’s” scent was known to the dog the dog made the right choice 73% of the time. But where the scent was only known to the dog through training the dog only made the correct hit 67% of the time and where the “suspect” was a complete stranger the dog was only correct 25% of the time.