IMAGE: Pexels, Towfiqu barbhuiya
A bill that would have created the first statewide standards for police dogs just died quietly in Sacramento, according to an article on NBC7.
For the second consecutive year, efforts to create guidelines for police dogs in California have failed to become reality after two bills, AB 2042 and AB 3241, stalled in the state Senate, the article notes. Both bills would have created a single statewide policy for all law enforcement K9 units. Currently, every department uses their dogs differently, the article reports.
NBC7 shares the bills were linked and both needed to pass to become law. The legislation had cleared the Assembly a couple of months ago, but stalled in the Senate after being amended. Legislators did not vote on them before the end of the regular legislative session.
The bills would have required police to track and publish how they use dogs. The article shares P.O.S.T, the California police training and education organization, would set guidelines to use dogs according to the severity of the suspected crime. The bills also would have required dog handlers to carry tools to help release a bite, the article noted.
Both bills would have also prevented using police dogs as a crowd control tactic, the article shared.
