*** UPDATE – THERE WILL BE A SECOND #DONTDITCHTHEDOGS TWEETATHON 7.30PM (19.00 HOURS) GMT ON TUESDAY 17TH DECEMBER ***
With Police Force’s around the country cutting costs wherever possible to save money, some have already reduced Police Dog and Handlers numbers by large amounts, and other forces are talking about further, even greater cuts to dog numbers.
On Monday evening (25/11/13) on Twitter, there will be an attempt to highlight the risks associated with reducing dog numbers even further than they are at now (and many would say that’s already too few !!) – there’s talk in some areas of up to a 50% reduction, and forces where at night there is just ONE dog on duty to cover everything.
What do you think; do we have enough police dogs ? not enough ? or too many ? – take the survey below and share your thoughts.
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When I joined the police 7 yrs ago we have two per shift for each part of my force ie 2 north and 2 south so 4 on duty at any time and even more on shift overlaps. Now it’s one for the whole county. Gone from 4 to 1 in about 3 yrs.
Why not just disband the whole Police force. A massive saving. In money terms. A disaster for society, as mob rule takes over. Short sighted fools running the country, as if they give a shit. Living in their glass houses
Having worked alongside a couple of dog handlers as a special constable within my own force over my 25 years service I have to say dog handlers are invaluable to the police service. Their capabilities and presence can be equivalent to a number of beat officers in the detention of offenders and the containment of violent situations. They are a particularly valuable resource in rural force areas and I can not understand why police forces are willing to reduce dog numbers. Perhaps the bosses need take a week out and and work alongside these guys to see what they can do.
I believe there should be at least one trained GP dog on every district at ALL times. they are worth their weight in gold as are the officers who work with them.
Recall being made “redundant ” from the dog section when it was reduced by over 50%. My transition back to so called front line policing was traumatic. Had it not been for an understanding Sgt and other shift members I dread to think what I might have done to at least one member of the public. Anyway after approx. 18 months and a change of Chief the numbers were reinstated and I felt very lucky to be one of the chosen few. I Served most of my service as a member of the Dog section. Good Days
So what would you have done to at least one member of the public, little thug?
Why not reduce the number of councillors and mp’s then use the savings to employ more front line services? In North Somerset the number of councillors earning £33000 per annum plus expenses has increased, from 30 to 37, and weston nhs trust has more admin staff than the entire Bristol trust, WHY???
As a civvi private handler I work a Explo dog and also a Drug dog and have worked with some police forces with my dogs, yes may be cut specialist dog roles and sub it to private qualified handlers. But no way cut GP dogs. As a civvi we would have no power of arrest or detention so would still have to wait for a officer to arrive so he may as well arrive with a dog surly thats cheaper?
We have not enough Police dogs we do not have enough Constables And Sergeants either Police front line has been cut far too much already our borough has only 4 officers to cover a large area allowing for shifts this probably needs one man
I did 30yrs in the police, 15yrs as a Sergeant and was a PSU instructor/tactical advisor. Dogs and their handlers are a godsend. From missing persons, to violent scenarios, to drugs, they cannot be replaced. A stroke of the pen to do away with them, years to replace them, when the mistake is realised !
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The only thing I would say is the photo used doesn’t come close to giving us justice. Members of the Management Team only ever see our dogs as “extra pieces of PPE” and they are SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT!
Dogs do many aspects of police work in a different way, which is very useful and often time saving. A drugs dog can tell you where the stash is in less than 10 seconds ( not always ) but mine did it. A real time saver, a money saver. Its a second way of searching so less is missed. A GP dog is a much safer way to search an area or building, and in a violent situation the dog can be very effective, indeed, cost effective. Lets fire the bean counters instead!
I’m a dual role police dog handler and can say that both my dogs have found things that the Human cops were looking for but couldn’t locate. They have bought people to justice who would have got away with committing offences.. they are priceless and a great asset to forces… I attend incidents on my own with my boys where normally a double crew would get sent and just a woof from the van is enough to make people think.. more required..not less….
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they got rid of the Horses / most of the Divers / half of the dogs / now they want more bobbies on beat so lets get rid of all the cars that will get us all walking again. no money for Policeing but 6 million in forien add to a country thats just launched a rocket to Mars ?? u could not make it up..
When i joined the old Strathclyde dog unit we had 12 per shift covering the force 24/7, now in Scotland we are lucky to have 6-8 covering the whole country !!!
Already reduced Prison patrol dogs…Don’t let it happen to you guys, will they ever learn it is a false economy
Police dogs needed in every major town not just one per county
I have served as a front line constable for 30 yrs. I can give you many many stories where a police dog would have been needed but was not available, including one instance where it would have prevented me being hospitalised and have assisted the detention of several criminals. The funny thing, on this occasion I was with a very highly trained dog handler who had lost his dog due to these cut backs. not efficient and not cost effective Chief Constable. Lets have our dogs back please.
One dog is worth at least four beat Coppers!
Keep calm and love police dogs. They become your work partner, friend and protector in such a useful and heroic role.
One good Police Dog ,and handler,can control a violent mob, and subdue an incident, in seconds, can search a large building in minutes, can cover a large search area, just by sniffing the air scent.
can disarm persons without endangering officers lives. And the handler can be one policeman, but he can cover the tasks of so many officers ,alone with his partner
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After I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and
from now on whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment.
Perhaps there is a means you are able to remove
me from that service? Thanks!
Dog Handlers are a key feature and component of the police forces capability! It would be a shame for the police to lose out on one of its most effective attributes.