The use of mantrailing dogs in police and judicial context, future directions, limits and possibilities – A law review

• Published in: Forensic science international 2023-01, Vol.7, p.100439, Article 100439
• Main Authors: Woidtke, Leif, Crispino, Frank, Ferry, Barbara, Gansloßer, Udo, Hohlfeld, Nina Marie, Osterkamp, Tom
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Forensic science; Human scent evidence; Law; Life Sciences; Mantrailing; Mantrailing as evidence in court; Policy and Management (in memory of Jay Siegel)
• ISSN: 2589-871X; 0379-0738; 2589-871X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2023.100439

The extraordinary capabilities of the canine nose are increasingly being used by law enforcement agencies in many countries to solve and reconstruct crimes. As a result, this type of forensic evidence can be and is still being challenged in the courts. So far, only a few publications have addressed the jurisprudence concerning mantrailing. We provide an overview of the jurisprudence in Germany and the USA, as well as insights from France. Relevant databases were searched, and 201 verdicts from Germany and 801 verdicts from the USA were analyzed. As a result, 16 published verdicts on the topic of mantrailing were found for Germany, and 44 verdicts since 2010 were found for the USA. The use of mantrailers and human scent discrimination dogs is employed in the investigative process in all three countries. The results derived from these methods are admissible as evidence in court, albeit not as sole evidence. •In Germany, France, and the US, law enforcement agencies employ mantrailing dogs and scent discrimination dogs.•The outcomes of these canine deployments are admissible as legal evidence.•The typical perception assigns them a role of supporting evidentiary weight in Germany and the US. In France, mantrailing leading to a particular person is described in a technical report and recorded in the investigation files but has no probative value.