ESSEX POLICE: dog section

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The Essex Police Dog Section

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	There is a sharp contrast between the original dog unit which was formed in 1953 and that of today. Originally there were only two dogs, a Doberman and a German Shepherd and the two constable handlers shared one dog van. Today the unit has 37 general purpose police dogs, 10 drugs and firearms dogs, 5 explosive search dogs, 42 handlers, 20 estate cars, plus specialist vehicles for drugs, explosives and training. Since January 1988 the majority of training has been carried out at the Regional Police Dog Training School in Guildford, where the original two police dogs were trained. All the dogs receive refresher training and this is undertaken at the Essex Police Dog Section Headquarters based at Sandon, near Chelmsford. When dogs were first introduced they were stationed at Police Headquarters but they are now located throughout the county with units at:- Sandon, Colchester, Harlow, Rochford, Laindon, Ockendon, Thorpe and Bocking. There is always at least one dog on duty in these areas every day.
	If a dog is accepted it will attend an 8 week training course, where it will be taught obedience, agility, retrieval techniques and how to search buildings. Dogs are also trained to track, chase and detain a fleeing criminal, by circling the person and to keep barking even if the person is armed with a stick or gun and determined to get away. Police dogs can track a person up to three or four hours after the ground was disturbed.		Some dogs are purchased, although most are received as gifts from the public. Dogs are accepted for training at about one year old but they are not accepted if they are over aggressive or nervous. The dog should be about 23" tall at the shoulder, quite bold, but friendly, with even temperament.
	On completion of the course the dog is licensed to work, for 12 months, this is reviewed annually. For general police work the German Shepherd is the most popular dog, this is mainly due to availability, temperament and its trainability. Other breeds have been used in the past including; Riesenschnauzer, Bouviers and Rottweiler. The 15 specialist dogs in the unit are Labradors and Springer Spaniels. Five are trained to detect explosives and ten to indicate or retrieve controlled drugs and firearms. Drug dogs have recovered millions of pounds worth of drugs over the years. The trained dogs live with their handlers and usually retire from work between seven and eight years old. The dog section attends up to 15,000 incidents a year, often looking for missing people and items of property. The handlers arrest up to 1000 prisoners and assist in arresting many more. *The QUICK QUIZ Page* How much can you remember? Check out the QUICK QUIZ page and see!