With cybercrime soaring, police forces have turned to the smelling superpowers of dogs to hunt for evidence. thetimes.co.uk/article/digi-d…
Whether it’s a Sim card from a drug gang’s burner phone, a key fob for a getaway car, a terrorist’s mobile phone, a laptop in a fraud case or a paedophile’s hidden USB stick, “digi-dogs” can sniff it out.
“On every digital storage device there is a chemical that has a very specific scent,” explains PC Brett French.
Dogs’ noses, French says, are packed with about 300 million olfactory receptors, compared with a paltry six million in ours.
“We’ve had a lot of successes,” says PC Chris Duffee. On one raid he says, “Jake [the dog] gave me an indication on an empty iPhone box. He was adamant there was something there. It revealed a false bottom.”
“Within that was a hidden phone. They’re making these finds all the time — it’s stuff that could easily be missed by officers in a search.”
Digi-dogs have even been involved in an international swoop on suspected bitcoin thieves. “Our dogs can find crypto wallets,” Duffee adds.
Think “police dog” and you probably envisage a German shepherd or a Belgian malinois — something big, toothy and fierce.
Those are the general purpose (GP) dogs — “the bitey ones”, as one officer calls them.
Sniffer dogs are usually labradors, springer spaniels or cocker spaniels — traditional gundog retriever breeds that have what PC French calls “a high drive for search”.
Forensic dogs, says Inspector Stephen Biles, can help solve “sexual assaults, stranger rapes — we can use them to track down traces of semen in parks”. Others can find murder victims.
Duffee’s digi-dog, Jake, was born and bred at the Met’s dog training centre in Keston.
In a far corner of the leafy site is a low-rise building with the signs “Puppy block” and “Breeding unit” on the gate. “This is the Hilton for puppies,” says Biles, a jovial Yorkshireman.
“Yes, I do have the best inspector’s job in the Met,” Biles, the man in charge at Keston, says with a grin.
“How do we feel about killing Dad?” Shiv asked, in last night’s #Succession finale. “Pass me the shotgun,” Kendall replied. Bless their naive hearts thetimes.co.uk/article/succes…
A second week in Italy, and #SuccessionHBO ended its third series with the sort of Roman tragicomedy that William Shakespeare would surely have penned today.
Everything you need to know about the Italian locations, by the high-end travel expert tasked with finding them. Think 17th‑century mansions, secret osterias and a 22-carat gold swimming pool (!) thetimes.co.uk/article/succes…
Did you ditch dairy in 2021? It might be time for a rethink as new findings confirm that yoghurt, milk and cheese are not the dietary demons we once assumed 🥛🧀 thetimes.co.uk/article/drink-…
Existing healthy eating guidelines recommend:
👨 men should eat no more than 30g of saturated fats and 👩 women no more than 20g a day
Though it’s not that difficult to hit those upper targets when:
50g 🧀+ a dish of 🍨 = ~20g of saturated fat
One tablespoon 🧈 + 200ml of whole🥛 = ~20g of saturated fat
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency, told #Marr a wave of cases was “coming straight at us” and warned further restrictions – beyond WFH – might be needed