Cheshire Constabulary’s dog section is full of unsung heroes.
From maintaining public order to tackling drug dealers, and from
tracking down missing people to detecting explosives, the dogs are
at the heart of our work to ensure the people of Cheshire are safe
and feel safe.
The dog section currently comprises 20 operational dog handlers.
They are trained police officers with a passion for working with
dogs. Each handler has their own general purpose dog, which is a
German Shepherd.
General purpose dogs undertake a 13-week initial training course
to equip them with the skills they will need in order to serve as
police dogs. This is regularly refreshed with training exercises
that replicate real-life situations.
Their main jobs are:
- Searching for people, including criminals and missing
people.
- Providing a reassuring presence at public events, such as
football matches.
- Tracking people using scents from the scenes of crime.
- Chasing fleeing criminals
There are also nine drugs detection dogs. When looking for
potential drugs dogs, we try to find spaniels, Labradors or collies
with a playful nature. Dogs that enjoy chasing and playing with a
ball are best suited to life as a drugs dog. After initially being
trained to find their ball, the dog will go on a six-week course
with its handler to learn how to detect different types of
drugs.
The final types of specialist dogs working for Cheshire
Constabulary are the explosives detection dogs. Fortunately, the
county’s six dogs specialising in detecting explosives do not make
many finds, but they are highly-trained to save lives should the
situation arise. They are used to search venues before high-profile
events to ensure the area is safe. The dogs train for eight weeks
on a similar programme to the drugs dogs, but instead learn the
scents of various explosive materials.
Benefits
There are many benefits of using police dogs:
- They save valuable time.
- They have a superior sense of smell.
- Even the quickest criminal would struggle to outrun a police
dog.
- They provide visible reassurance to law-abiding people.
Welfare
All police dogs live at home with their handlers, which means
the dog’s welfare is a 24-hours-a-day responsibility for the
officer. The kennel facilities at the handler’s home are checked
every year to ensure they continue to meet high standards.
On occasions when the handlers are unable to look after the dog,
such as during holidays, they are cared for at the dog kennels at
Cheshire Constabulary’s headquarters. A team of kennel hands takes
over responsibility for feeding and exercising the dog.
The kennels have been inspected by the Dogs Trust who were
impressed with the facilities and the care given to our dogs and,
as a result, have donated dogs to us.
All dogs also get a thorough health check-up from a vet every 12
months.
Recruitment
Most new dogs are donated to us by members of the public or
organisations such as the Dogs Trust. We conduct comprehensive
searches to make sure we get the right type of dogs.