Police dogs bite down on rural thieves
Aug 7 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal
BURGLARS, thieves and assorted criminals beware – a crack team of canine crimefighters is on your trail, and there is nowhere to hide.
In recent weeks, the 20 specially-trained dogs used by Northumbria Police officers have chalked up a string of impressive results in the battle against rural lawbreakers in Northumberland.
Leading the way are two-year-old Kane and his experienced handler PC George Hall, who tracked down and arrested a school burglar and a village housebreaker in the space of a few days. Kane, a Malinois, is part of the Northumbria squad of four-legged troubleshooters, which range from general purpose dogs to those specifically trained to detect drugs or explosives.
He and PC Hall were recently sent to the former West Sleekburn Middle School at 7.30pm after a passer-by reported seeing a man breaking into the derelict building.
They carried out a search and Kane located and helped detain a 40-year-old Ashington man who had concealed himself under floorboards.
A few days later, after a house burglary in the village of Hepscott near Morpeth, Kane used his highly-sensitive nose to track the criminal’s scent over a considerable distance before finding the suspect in the middle of a cornfield.
In other recent incidents, police dog Bert trailed a suspect for half a mile and found him after four men broke into a recycling plant in Wooler, and canine colleague Buster tracked three thieves – who were found in undergrowth with stolen property and tools – following the theft of metal cable. Police dog Rip was tasked with searching woodland near Cramlington for two men after an assault.
After finding one of them, Rip was attacked by the man but managed to detain him. Undeterred, he then went on to locate the second wanted man.
On Tyneside, three dog handlers were among officers who recently searched for a murder suspect in woodland near Gateshead. The wanted man was eventually located by police dog Tyke.
Chief Insp Simon Packham, of the Northumberland area command, said: “These are just a few examples of the excellent work our dogs and their 14 handlers are carrying out on a regular basis.
“The dogs are a valuable resource for us, particularly as the area command has a lot of rural areas and wide spaces which can take a long time to search without a dog.
“Our message to criminals in Northumberland is that you can run but you can’t hide from our highly-trained dogs and handlers. There is no doubt about it, the dogs will track you down.”
