all general purpose police dogs are trained to free search for people, they can work in open areas, buildings etc, the dog is trained to find the person exactly the same as your dogs but when it finds it stays with the body / misper and barks, now for the problem,
as a police dogs main role is to find criminals if the person moves or tries to walk / run off the dog WILL bite and detain that person,
oops if its anyone scared of dogs or a misper with mental / dementia problems.
having worked both police and SAR dogs i regulary hear tales of police dogs being used for misper searches ( i do it ), it all depends on the dog, the older the dog the wiser it is and the more it enjoys to bite. police dog handlers NEED TO BE MORE HONEST about the suitability of their dog for this type of search and call in SAR where needed.
what to do if a police dogs comes running toward you, stand still, dont move and ensure your wearing trousers with elasticated bottoms for the probable liquid adrenalin rush.
this will probably upset some police dog handlers. mike