General Purpose Dogs
The Force's General Purpose Police Dogs are all German Shepherds.
Members of the public have gifted most of these dogs to the Police.
General Purpose Police Dogs start their training when they are between 12 and 24 months old and will work until they are between 7 and 8 years old.
Each new dog receives a minimum of 12 weeks intensive training and must pass a test to be licensed before becoming operational. Each dog receives a minimum of 16 days training per year after this and must be relicensed every year. Handlers also carry out further training on a day to day basis.
As their name suggests, General Purpose Police dogs can be used for a wide variety of roles.
Some of their uses include
- Searching for missing persons either in the open or in buildings
- Searching buildings and open areas for criminals fleeing from the Police
- Searching for stolen or lost property
- Tracking a criminal by following the scent they have left when leaving a crime scene
- Crowd control
- Chase and detain fleeing criminals
A dog handler will always issue a standard challenge to suspects who are running away. If the suspect stops running the dog will stop beside them and bark. However, if they carry on running, the dog will give chase and bring them down.
