RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. As we begin to hear the jingle of a mythical reindeer who guided a flying sleigh, let's consider grounded reindeer who patrol the forest. Finland's police have used them for years. Now police in Russia's far North want to bring reindeer onto the force. They have snowmobiles but say the reindeer won't break down in the frozen tundra, which is why criminals in that icy realm already use them as getaway vehicles. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.