Heroic police dogs trained to sniff out suicide bombers
BRAVE sniffer dogs that can detect explosives on terrorists’ bodies will be deployed to spare the lives of police officers during future terror attacks.
The specialist dogs have been trained to venture into the aftermath of an atrocity such as the London Bridge attack.
By following a laser-pen beam from their handlers, they can be directed to prone suspects shot by armed officers. The dogs can then signal whether the extremists are wearing suicide belts or holding weapons.
Officers hope that the new use for sniffer dogs – revealed for the first time today – will save emergency services personnel from being injured or killed after an armed terrorist has been downed. It will also speed up the response to future attacks by removing the need to wait for bomb disposal robots, and allow paramedics to reach casualties sooner.
Bedfordshire Police, which has pioneered the training, says in a report: ‘Demand for dogs is increasing to tackle knife crime offenders and marauding terrorist firearm attack incidents.’
A counter-terrorism source said: ‘Everyone is impressed by what Bedfordshire has done and it has the potential to be rolled out nationally.’
The need for the new approach was highlighted in the London Bridge attacks two years ago. The three terrorists were shot by firearms officers but they were wearing fake suicide vests which seriously impeded operations.
Superintendent Mark Greenhalgh, from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Joint Protective Services Command, said: ‘We are continuing to explore how we can utilise dogs in the policing response to a number of different situations.
‘The welfare of our dogs also remains a top priority, and over the past 12 months none of our dogs have been injured on duty, which includes jobs where they have recovered knives.’