Russia considers deploying crime-fighting reindeer to fight Siberian hooliganism

Russia is considering introducing a special reindeer police force to fight petty crime in Siberia's frozen arctic tundra, reports the Guardian. While the English-language reports are oddly vague about what "reindeer police" are, one assumes that it refers to (human) police who ride on reindeer in remote areas.

"During the first half of 2014, 163 crimes were reported in the Yamalsky municipality of Yamalo-Nenets in western Siberia, including drunken fights, robberies and hooliganism. Local police say the figures are typical across the district.

The police have been asking for reindeers since 2012, but they haven’t yet been deployed to maintain public order."

Some parts of the region are so remote that they're impossible to access, except on reindeer-back. The police currently use snowmobiles, but they have a tendency to break down or run out of gas.

Reindeer do not break down or run out of gas. Their hooves adapt to the seasons, becoming soft in summer to give them extra traction on muddy ground, and revealing a hard edge in winter to dig into ice and snow. They are able to see UV light, giving them an important advantage in the arctic, where there is little sunlight for months on end.

There are also unconfirmed reports that they can fly and deliver presents to every child in the world in one single night, so handling some local hooliganism should be well within their capabilities.

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