It was a special occasion on the paw-ffice for the South Australian Dog Operations Unit, which unleashed its 50-year anniversary celebrations this morning.
South Australia Police’s (SAPOL) ‘top dogs’ donned social gathering hats, as members reminisced on 5 a long time of helping the group.
Part of the Special Tasks and Rescue (STAR) Group, the Dog Operations Unit is led by a Senior Sergeant, has two full-time Training/Operations Sergeants and 20 canine handlers.
Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams mentioned the Dog Operations Unit continues to serve an vital perform inside SAPOL, with dogs and handlers extremely skilled to carry out a wide range of duties.
“For 50 years the use of police dogs operationally has seen numerous advantages, as South Australia Police works towards safer communities,” she mentioned.
Available 24/7, the service includes 13 German Shepherds and 13 Labradors, together with as much as 5 growth dogs, throughout 12 basic objective groups and eight detector canine groups.
“Dog Operations Unit assists the community through delivering services including finding suspects and missing persons,” Operations Manager Senior Sergeant Ryan Johnson mentioned.
“We also use dogs to detect illicit substances to contribute to SAPOL’s Illicit Drug Strategy through harm minimisation. Our dogs are also able to detect explosives, firearms and currency.
“Our handlers are also heavily involved in events and talks, which help the community to understand the role of a dog handler within SAPOL.”
In September 1973, SAPOL despatched two members to the United Kingdom to undertake a canine course run by the Staffordshire County Police.
The course concluded after three months and on 30 November 1973 the 2 handlers, Detective Sergeant Lloyd Morley and First Class Constable Dennis Posgate, returned to Adelaide with police dogs Kaffir and Rebel.
In February 1974, SAPOL acquired 4 extra dogs: Rex, Sulu, Satan and Tina from the Staffordshire County Police. Inspector George Grayson was seconded to SAPOL from this service to coach the 4 new dogs and handlers, earlier than the course concluded on 15 April 1974.
These dogs had been skilled in detecting each floor and airborne human scent and in looking for hashish. Then in 1994 the Unit launched specialist devoted drug dogs in response to growing illicit substance points inside society.
Two handlers, then Senior Constables Peter Crouch and Michael Davies, had been chosen to undertake a three-month drug detection canine course in Canberra with the Australia Customs Service (now Border Force). The return of those handlers and their Labrador retrievers Zenna and Vashti noticed the nucleus of what’s now an eight-person sturdy Specialist Drug Detection workforce.
In 1998, SAPOL launched Firearms and Explosive Detection dogs, skilled to find as much as 10 explosive odours, together with just lately fired firearms and rounds.
The unit’s Labradors are historically sourced from an Australian Border Force breeding facility in Melbourne. German Shepherds are sourced from a gaggle of respected breeders SAPOL has developed relationships with over the years.
“The age they become operational really depends on the dog. Usually our dogs don’t go on a training course prior to 12 months of age,” Senior Sergeant Johnson defined.
“Any time after that they could potentially be suitable to undertake a course. Sometimes we have dogs that are over two years of age that get trained up.”
Each canine lives on the home of its handler and turns into a member of the household.
“Since the dogs live with us we actually see them more than anyone else,” Sergeant Peter Crouch defined.
“When we aren’t working they come on holidays with us. They are a big part of the family.
“We form an incredible bond with these dogs, and when they retire, they naturally come home and stay with us.”
The canine groups are primarily based in metropolitan Adelaide, however are ready to reply to requires help all through the state.
“The unit is busy with tasking requests and with an ever-growing population within South Australia, we are seeing an increase in demand,” Senior Sergeant Johnson added.
“The unit also deploys state wide and provides coverage to our rural areas including the West Coast, Far North and Limestone Coast.”
