Police Dogs Celebrated On International Dog Day

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary is highlighting the important role played by police dogs in keeping communities across the two counties safe.

The force says its highly trained dogs support officers with a wide range of operations, including tracking suspects, finding vulnerable missing people and detecting drugs and explosives.

They can also help recover evidence and search for hidden digital devices.

Inspector Andy Mooge said police dogs provide an “extraordinary service” to local communities, with their intelligence and specialist skills making a real difference in the fight against crime and in protecting the public.

To mark International Dog Day, the force has also shared a video highlighting the different roles carried out by its specialist police dogs.

Vinny Harrison training

The dogs featured include Chief, who is trained for general policing duties, Harry, a drugs detection dog, Moss, who specialises in digital detection, Arlo, who is trained to detect explosives, and Major, a passive drugs dog.

All five dogs are based in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and are part of the Joint Operations Unit, which provides specialist support to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary and Thames Valley Police.