# UK Police Dogs Detect Date-Rape Drugs, But US Cops Haven't Embraced It

> UK police dogs sniff date-rape drugs, but Chicago and Illinois police don't train canines for this purpose.
- Title: UK Police Dogs Detect Date-Rape Drugs, But US Cops Haven't…
- Summary: UK police dogs sniff date-rape drugs, but Chicago and Illinois police don't train canines for this purpose. Thames Valley Police in England train dogs to…
- Keywords: thames valley police, date-rape drugs, police dogs, chicago police department, cook county sheriff, illinois state police, k9 units, date rape drugs, roofies, ghb, rohypnol, ketamine
- Source: Chicago Sun-Times — https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/10/26/police-canines-thames-valley-trained-date-rate-drugs-spiking-chicago-police-cook-county-sheriff-state-police
- Published: 2026-10-26T10:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: thames valley police, date-rape drugs, police dogs, chicago police department, cook county sheriff, illinois state police, k9 units, date rape drugs, roofies, ghb, rohypnol, ketamine
## UK Police Training
Thames Valley Police in England have started training dogs to sniff out date-rape drugs for patrols and deterrence.

> These are planned offenses. So it’s really about turning the tables on offenders, going out and looking for them.
## US Police Response
Chicago Police Department and Cook County Sheriff's Office do not train canines to detect date-rape drugs.

> At this time, our canines do not sniff for drugs that may be used in sexual assaults
## Illinois State Police
Illinois State Police K9s focus on detecting methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine.

> ISP canines are not trained to detect 'date rape drugs'
## Drug Detection Scope
Cook County K9s detect cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and cannabis, but not date-rape drugs.

> The sheriff’s office does not train its K9s to detect drug compounds that may be legally possessed for legitimate medical use
## Date-Rape Drugs in US
Ketamine and GHB are legally prescribed in the US, while Rohypnol is a benzodiazepine with therapeutic uses.

> Ketamine and GHB, which are two of the three drugs often considered 'date rape' drugs, can be legally prescribed in the U.S.
## US K9 Training Limitations
US police agencies do not train K9s to detect date-rape drugs due to legal and privacy concerns.

> There are significant Constitutional and legal restrictions on how and when K9s may be used even when deployed to search for illegal narcotics
## Expert Opinion
Experts say it's feasible to train US police dogs to detect date-rape drugs but it's not currently being done.

> Would it be effective here? Yes. Is it being used here? Not that I know of.
## Country Thunder Festival
Young women reported being given knockout drugs before sexual assault at Country Thunder music festival.

> Young women have reported being given what they believe were knockout drugs before being sexually assaulted
## Thames Valley Police Strategy
Thames Valley Police use dogs to detect drugs in pubs and clubs to deter sexual assaults.

> We’ll quite often go into pubs and clubs
## K9 Detection Success
Dogs show behavioral changes when detecting illegal substances, indicating successful identification.

> If an illegal substance is sniffed out, there’s a change in behavior with the dog that the handler watches for
## US K9 Numbers
Chicago Police has about 60 canines, Cook County has about 20, Illinois State Police has 70.

> At this time, we have approximately 60 canines
## Date-Rape Drug Concerns
Date-rape drugs like GHB and Rohypnol have been used in sexual assaults at University of Chicago fraternity houses.

> In that case, a woman told Chicago police she feared she was drugged before being sexually assaulted at the Alpha Delta Phi house
## US Legal Constraints
US law allows for legal medical use of some date-rape drugs, complicating K9 training.

> Ketamine and GHB, which are two of the three drugs often considered 'date rape' drugs, can be legally prescribed in the U.S.
## Current US Policy
US police agencies do not train K9s to detect date-rape drugs due to legal and privacy concerns.

> We are not aware of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. training and utilizing K9s to detect date rape drugs
## Key takeaway

Thames Valley Police in England train dogs to detect date-rape drugs, while Chicago Police and Cook County Sheriff's Office do not use K9s for this purpose.