"They can do things humans just can't do," say police dog handlers
Retired Northamptonshire police dogs highlight vital frontline role
Whether tracking armed robbery suspects through town centres, locating missing children hidden in dense undergrowth, or helping officers safely detain violent offenders, police dogs continue to play a vital role in frontline policing across Northamptonshire.
Their importance has been highlighted by the recent retirement of two long-serving police dogs, PD Bryn and PD Ebby.
Both dogs began their careers with Northamptonshire Police in early 2020 and spent almost seven years helping officers locate missing people, track suspects, recover evidence and support investigations across the county before retiring within days of each other.
Following in famous pawprints
PD Bryn held a particularly special place in the Force's history. He was named in memory of the original Police Dog Bryn, who was shot and killed while protecting his handler during an incident in 1998.
PD Ebby, meanwhile, was known by colleagues for her determination and ability to track both offenders and vulnerable missing people.
Superintendent Kelly Glister, of Northamptonshire Police’s operations department said: "Police dogs play an invaluable role in helping us protect the public and fight crime, and Bryn and Ebby have both been outstanding ambassadors for our Dog Section throughout their careers.''
A retirement ceremony was held at Force Headquarters last month, where handlers, colleagues and supporters gathered to celebrate Bryn and Ebby's years of service.
As modern policing increasingly relies on technology such as drones, helicopters and specialist search equipment, officers within Northamptonshire Police's Dog Section say there is still no substitute for a dog's unique abilities.
Police Dog handlers PC Lucy Sculthorpe and PC Ash Price have seen first-hand how dogs can succeed where other methods cannot, helping to find vulnerable people, locate evidence and bring offenders to justice.
"We get missing people where we've got no idea where they've gone," said PC Sculthorpe.
"If we know where they left from, a dog can sometimes pick up that track and follow it. It can save hundreds of hours of officer time searching for that person and find people who otherwise might not be found."
The Force's Dog Section consists of just 10 handlers and dogs, but officers say their impact is felt across the county on a daily basis.
Their work includes tracking suspects, recovering discarded evidence, finding vulnerable missing people and supporting officers at high-risk incidents.
"They can do things that humans just can't do"
PC Sculthorpe recalled one incident in which Bryn helped officers investigating a van stolen at gunpoint.
"We found it parked up with nobody in it and Bryn tracked from the van through several streets in the middle of town," she said.
"He found two suspects nearby who denied their involvement, but then also found the keys to the stolen van hidden in a bush behind a wall right next to where they were standing."
A firearm was also recovered near the suspects and both men were later jailed for armed robbery.
While many people associate police dogs with catching criminals, handlers say some of their most important work happens when searching for those in need of help.
PC Price recalled a recent incident where Police Dog Ebby was deployed to find a four-year-old boy who had wandered away from home in Kettering.
The child had become hidden in thick hedgerows and could not be seen from nearby roads or fields.
"Ebby tracked him down and just stood there looking at me and looking at him," PC Price said.
"She understood he wasn't a threat and didn't make a sound."
He said police dogs have also found missing people suffering medical emergencies and located individuals that aerial searches had struggled to find.
"We found a chap on the brink of cardiac arrest about four hours after he disappeared," he said. "It's phenomenal work that they can get involved in."
"If the Dog Section didn't exist tomorrow, I think officers would notice that straight away and the public would also be worse off for it"
Despite rapid advances in policing technology, handlers believe dogs remain irreplaceable.
"Technology can break, weather can stop drones from flying and there can be human error," PC Sculthorpe said.
"But the dogs can continue working regardless of a lot of those things."
PC Price added that dogs also play a significant role in protecting officers.
"There are offenders who might take five, six or seven officers to arrest because they're intent on being violent," he said.
"Then you point a dog at them and they'll surrender. They can make situations much safer for officers."
Handlers stress that the welfare of police dogs is always a priority, with risk assessments carried out before deployments and training exercises.
"There are inherent risks in policing for officers and dogs," PC Sculthorpe said. "But if the risk is too high for the dog, we won't do it. Their wellbeing and safety are always at the top of our agenda."
For those who work alongside them, police dogs are much more than operational assets.
"They're members of the family," said PC Sculthorpe. "They live with us, they work with us and they become part of everyday life.''