History
The K-9 units, through the years, have been credited with providing a valuable service to the Hyattsville City Police Department, supporting police jurisdictions and the community through public safety awareness and K-9 demonstrations. The criminal element today has gone to great lengths to try and fool law enforcement officers, but with the dog’s keen sense of smell, it is very difficult to hide anything from them.

Misrepresentation
Frequently, people outside of law enforcement misunderstand how the dogs are actually used and deployed. This misunderstanding is reinforced by the media, movies, and fictional references, which mistakenly show the dog's aggression as opposed to depicting how a modern Police K-9 is truly used.

The Police Service Dogs are used to: