Canine camera rollout for police
A police dog strapped into a protective vest and wearing booties rushes down a hallway in search of an offender, holed up in the building.
Safe around a corner, an armed officer stares down at a receiver on their arm: they see what the dog sees.
By the end of the year, police plan to equip armed offenders squad (AOS) units around the country with canine cameras.
Canterbury police have been using the system for about a year. Yesterday, they gave The Press a demonstration inside an abandoned motel on Papanui Rd.
Regional dog trainer supervisor Sergeant Tim Yates said police paid about $13,000 for the camera and receiver system, currently the only one in the country.
The camera is springmounted to deal with the rigours of the job and attaches to the top of a police dog vest.
It transmits black-and-white footage to a receiver unit, and also has infrared capability for situations with little light.
Yates said an AOS team leader would monitor the receiver after a handler released the dog into a building in search of an offender.
Having live video meant the AOS team could see the layout of a building and look for any barricades, booby traps or other obstacles before they went in.
Yates said there had been positive feedback from AOS officers who had used the system. He said it was preferable to send a dog in rather than a person, and described the system as another tool for police.