Law Enforcement Tracking
| Tracking History Tracking has been with us since early hominids learned to read signs to get preferred prey within range of weapons or trap-snares. Since early weapons were more likely to wound prey than kill it outright, tracking would have been essential in following wounded or poisoned prey when the animal itself was out of sight. Knowledge was passed along through training and oral tradition. As bands of humans proliferated, many societies encouraged raiding more successful neighbors to improve local nutrition. The use of tracking in reconnaissance prior to tribal raiding or pursuing successful raiders added new dimensions to the skill. Human prey could be aware of the sign they left behind, allowing them to disguise or conceal their sign; the size of the raiding/pursuing force would allow the development of cooperative tracking techniques rather than the lone hunter relying only on his own skill. Since raiding existed among many cultures worldwide, modern societies could often find many men for whom tracking was an essential skill, which literally made the difference between living and dying by an enemy’s spear. Colonial-era armies made use of these “native trackers” as scouts and trainers to augment the skills of ranchers and hunters among the ranks. Animal tracking as a skill persisted among hunters and ranchers until modern times, and starvation helped to select the best of them (starvation as natural selection). The fact that the United States and Canada developed (e.g. kept a frontier) later than Europe allowed them to maintain a domestic source of trackers into modern times. The most famous of these American scouts were the Apache Scouts who helped the US Army to capture the rebelling Chiricahua Apache band. This unit was dissolved in 1920. Internationally, examples of these “native trackers” still exist today, although reduction of habitat and the allure of easier lives have forced them into isolated pockets. In between the World Wars, the British Army and the US Marines were involved in a series of small wars across the globe. Post-WW2, British Special Forces (SAS) learned tracking from the Iban tribesman of (Borneo) Indonesia. These skills contributed to the deadliness of these troops during the Malayan Emergency including the conflict with Indonesia, Kenya, and Yemen. Rhodesian SAS/Portuguese in Africa use a mix of native trackers and their own skills (due to variable reliability of native trackers); U.S. Army Special Forces (USSF) in Vietnam and early Border Patrol also used native talent. The Border Patrol used resources from local ranchers and trappers. Later most BP agents became static leaving tracking to a very small percentage of its officers like Jack Kearney and Ab Taylor. Today, a dying art has recently gone through a re-birth and has been put into use by the Military, Law Enforcement, and Search and Rescue. Anything that moves will leave some type of sign that indicates its journey across terrain. Animals, people and machines all leave signs. A trained and highly skilled tracker can detect and follow that sign while untrained persons cannot see anything at all. If it moves over the ground, it must leave sign and a tracker can identify and follow that sign. Anything that moves will leave some type of sign that indicates its journey across terrain. Animals, people and machines all leave signs. A trained and highly skilled tracker can detect and follow that sign while untrained persons cannot see anything at all. If it moves over the ground, it must leave sign and a tracker can identify and follow that sign.
Written by Fernando Moreira |
Law Enforcement Training in Iowa - July 2010 |
TACTICAL TRACKING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT - $500
Pack extra clothing, sleeping bags etc. Keep it Light as possible, you will be required to carry, and train with it for 5 days. Absolutely no camp fires this is to be treated as a tactical operation in real world conditions. Training will take place rain or shine. Camouflage uniforms will be worn at all times during the class. Back to Top
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Urban Tracking $350 Sign Cutting $300
Patrol Tracker $250
Crime Scene Track Interpretation $400
This course is for the highly motivated professional law enforcement person that has the desire to become a Nevada / California P.O.S.T. certified crime tracker for the purpose of assisting law enforcement in investigation of tracks and sign at crime scenes. It is an intensive course with 4 hours of classroom and 8 hours in crime scene scenarios based on real investigations. Successful trainees are certified through the State of Nevada Police Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T) and by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. Class size limited to 3 students per instructor. Due to the nature of the material presented, all applicants must have a letter from their sponsoring law enforcement agency in order to participate. Weekday courses also available at additional cost. Travel and lodging accommodations must be coordinated for the instructors by the host agency.
Counter Tracking $500 Combat Tracking $500 Tactical Tracking $500 Advanced Tactical Tracking $600 |

This course is for the highly motivated professional law enforcement person that has the desire to become a Nevada / California P.O.S.T. certified crime tracker for the purpose of assisting law enforcement in investigation of tracks and sign at crime scenes. It is an intensive course with 4 hours of classroom and 8 hours in crime scene scenarios based on real investigations. Successful trainees are certified through the State of Nevada Police Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T) and by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. Class size limited to 3 students per instructor. Due to the nature of the material presented, all applicants must have a letter from their sponsoring law enforcement agency in order to participate. Weekday courses also available at additional cost. Travel and lodging accommodations must be coordinated for the instructors by the host agency.