New bomb sniffer dog for county police
THE LATEST recruit to an elite section of Leicestershire Police is already making an explosive impression.
Rosie is a 15-month-old springer spaniel who has just completed her training as a bomb dog.
As the second canine in the constabulary’s tactical dog and firearms unit, she is partnered by her handler Sergeant Richard - Dick - Bradley.
With the ability to sniff out various sorts of explosive material, Rosie will also support the dog section of EMOpSS - East Midlands Operational Specialist Services.
Unlike general purpose police dogs such as German and Belgian Shepherds, which are trained to find objects with human scent, locate people or control hostile crowds, Rosie is trained to identify particular substances within four key areas - buildings, open-areas, routes and vehicles.
Basic training for an explosive detection dog is usually eight weeks long with essential on-going and regular repeated training.
Rosie’s innate scenting capability due to her gun dog breeding is incredibly powerful and can even detect the presence of smells months later.
Rosie is Sgt Bradley’s third explosive detection dog since joining Leicestershire Police dog section 21 years ago. He initially signed up to the force in 1989.
Police dogs like Rosie remain with their handlers on a 24/7 basis to maintain a good working relationship.
Sgt Bradley, said: “We are really pleased to have another explosive detection dog join the force. The capability of dogs like Rosie is amazing and they continue to support policing and provide consistently good results.
“Although Rosie is already brilliant at her job, we have a lot more to learn together and I am going to enjoy training her and developing her knowledge and ability to become a more experienced dog for the force.”