WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. – Connecticut State Police have partnered with the Transportation Security Administration to deploy several fleets of passenger screening dogs at Bradley International Airport, which serve as an important asset to enhance security. airport security and keeping passengers safe.

The dog handlers are soldiers of the Connecticut State Police, who have been trained with their canine partners at the TSA’s National Dog Training Center in San Antonio, Texas. The dogs were trained for 12 weeks as they learned to detect explosives in heavy traffic. The dogs sniff out the air currents around travelers and their belongings as they pass through airport terminals and checkpoints to detect anyone who might be carrying explosives. Because they work among passengers to determine if they have any explosives on them, these dogs are known as passenger screening dogs. Dog teams support the performance and efficiency of TSA screening operations at checkpoints.

Canines that screen passengers and their handlers are an important layer of airport security because they increase the TSA’s ability to detect explosives. The procedure involved reconfiguring the check lines to allow passengers to pass by the dogs. This additional screening enhances security and allows the TSA to better detect threats.

“Previously, TSA only trained its employees to serve as passenger-screening dog handlers working in and around checkpoints, and this new level of partnership with Connecticut State Police is one model for how TSA can improve its existing relationship with local law enforcement to enhance airport security,” explains William Csontos, TSA’s federal security director for Connecticut. “Prior to this new level of cooperation, the TSA would train law enforcement officers and dogs to be traditional explosive detection dogs, but they are currently being trained as screening dogs. passenger screening to assist in screening travelers at the checkpoint. It was an interesting collaboration with the State Police.

Passengers leaving Bradley International Airport at any time can see squads of State Police dogs working around the passengers.

“Teams skillfully navigate among large groups of people to identify the source of the explosive smell, even if the source is mobile and often the source is unaware that it is being tracked,” says Csontos. Dog trainers are trained to read their dog’s behavior change when it shows an explosive smell has been detected.

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