STRENGTHEN DETECTION OF THREATS BY DETECTION DOGS IN PUBLIC AREAS – Explosive Detection Canine Certification

2026-07-22

The project follows the guidelines of the EU Action plan for the protection of public spaces and the EU Commission working group on explosive detection dogs (EDD) addressing priority 3 of this call: strengthen the detection of threats by detection dogs in public spaces. EU cooperation for the protection of public spaces has been constantly reinforced since 2017. The various types of public spaces as well as the variety of actors intervening call for innovative solutions to protect them. The EU Commission’s Forum for the protection of public spaces, in its Public/Private operator’s group seeks to bring together public authorities and private operators to discuss good practices and other ways to improve the protection of public spaces. In detail, the project aims at developing certification procedures, gathered in a qualification centre for explosive-detection dog teams, to validate the skills of public and private cynotechnical units that is responsible for: •Delivering the initial certification - once the training has been carried out in a private training centre; •Verifying skills maintenance by monitoring continuous training and annual certification; •Controlling operational readiness through blind tests. •Promoting know-how and expertise in the field at EU level. In the medium term, once this certification of EDD in place, it will lead EU MS to share information on the pools of skills and EDD who volunteer to work in another Member State. In the longer term, scientific research in this area of activity will provide a better understanding of the problems of dog olfactory and behavioural issues in order to improve training and assessment processes. Ideally, a common toolkit for the Member States, of the main explosive products memorized by dogs, would further facilitate the professional mobility of the sector in the European Union. The deliverables expected from this project can contribute to the implementation of European standards in the field of EDDs.

France

2025-10-01