(Police) man’s best friend
M.E.N. JOINS GMP’S DOGS AND THEIR HANDLERS IN TRAINING
IN A QUIET corner of Dunham Massey normally occupied by Scouts, some of Greater Manchester Police’s most specialist – and cutest – recruits undergo rigorous training.
GMP have a number of dogs currently active in the force – each one is meticulously trained and paired with a handler that best suits their personality.
They’re more than colleagues – the dogs and handlers live together, go through life together and often stay together long past the dog’s (and sometimes handler’s) serving days.
Like every great relationship, it takes time to build.
Dogs are often bred in the force, but don’t start training until they are around 18 months old. They’ll usually serve until they are about eight.
“I see these dogs more than I see my wife and children,” lead instructor Wes Donnelly tells the M.E.N.
Tilly, a spaniel puppy born on New Years’ Day, is at the very start of her career – not in formal training yet, but even the games she plays are an informal way of getting her ready for the job.
When she has grown up a little, Tilly will join the other police spaniels doing victim recovery and finding cash, drugs and firearms. But, for now, it’s hard to imagine this tiny, adorable puppy chasing anything except shoelaces.
Her days are spent playing with the instructors and volunteers that spend their days ensuring the dogs are happy, healthy and welltrained.
Cleo, whose handler is Gareth Greaves, is a young victim recovery dog about 18 months further into her training than Tilly.
Before Cleo and Gareth arrive, Mark Richardson, a Pc on the tactical dogs unit, places a few drops of blood on a tissue (recovered from a bin to ensure it doesn’t smell of him) and a knife and hides them both separately in a patch of dense woodland.
Cleo and Gareth’s job is to find the objects, using only Cleo’s nose and Gareth’s understanding of her.
Watching them work is fascinating. Cleo is given free rein of the territory and the search is led by her.
Gareth follows, keeping a close eye on her every movement. If he notices her catch a scent that grabs her attention, even for a second, he’ll instruct her to go back and take another look.
They work in zigzags, making sure they cover every inch of the ground.
After about 10 minutes of searching, Cleo stops by a tree stump and Gareth recovers the bloody tissue. She is rewarded with cuddles and praise before the search continues – and it isn’t long before she uncovers the knife, hidden behind a loose brick in a crumbling wall.
“Dogs have an unbelievable awareness,” says instructor Rob Carlin.
“They can go a bit under the radar because cases that they are involved in are ones that are still in court, or have difficult stuff like really bad assault or murder, where you can’t report everything.” The handlers are deeply committed to their job – to the extent that they all give blood that is then used to train the dogs.
Pc Richardson says the job can take over the handlers’ lives.
“We are all really passionate about it. There’s nothing better than driving to a job with a dog looking over your shoulder,” he said.
Mark Kay worked on the dogs unit for 20 years before retiring briefly and coming back as a civilian instructor.
He said that although the public perception of police dogs can be bad, they don’t want those who are overly aggressive or bite easily.
The best police dogs are ones who are curious, hardworking and attentive.
“Everything is about rewarding the dog,” he explains. “Dogs get rewarded with play and praise.”
The number of dogs the force is able to keep has dwindled over the years. Instructors tell me they now have just a third of the number they did in 2006.
“When the government made cuts, the dogs took a hit,” Mark says.
But things have started to improve, and officers feel that those in charge are realising how important they are again.