One man and his dog make fine team (From Worcester News)

One man and his dog make fine team

10:52am Friday 9th July 2010 in

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AS I stood outside the police dog van there were 10 loud bangs coming from the woods.

Just half an hour into starting my shift with dog handler Steve Morrell and his three-year-old dog Saiko, we had received a call about a suspected firearm being used in a wooded area in Worcester.

It was 8.30pm on a Saturday night, which was marked as busy as there had been two World Cup football games that day, it had been sunny and this sometimes could lead to more trouble – so this grade one (top priority) call – could have been a serious incident in progress.

Speeding to the site off Plantation Drive in Warndon, PC Morrell and German shepherd Saiko – who was safely caged in the back of the van – were both calm with the blue lights flashing and siren going to warn traffic of our presence.

Jumping out of the van we listened for the sounds which had been reported to the police from concerned residents in the area, and it wasn’t long before we heard them. I stayed by the van, trying to peer through the trees, as the two of them set off to investigate the area. Saiko’s nose was close to the ground as I saw them disappear down the path looking for clues or suspects hidden in the area.

And before long, there was another set of about 15 very loud bangs in continuous succession. It was hard to tell where exactly they had come from, but they seemed close.

About five to 10 minutes later the pair emerged further up the road having swept the area – but no one was there. Just then, another call came through to say that three youths had been found close by, and were suspected of setting off fireworks – believed to be the source of the loud bangs – and there was another PC and a community support officer on the scene. Again we were in the van and went to the area to back them up. “We are there to back up other officers at certain incidents,” said PC Morrell, who has been working as a police dog handler for 16 months, having previously been a police trainer and working within the police force for the past eight years. We are a little bit different to a normal resource and are part of a support unit for officers at jobs. We will take the dog along and use them if they are needed,” he said.

Arriving at the scene – leaving three-year-old Saiko in the van in order not to possibly inflame the situation, but close enough to grab just in case of trouble – we saw the three very out-of-breath youths.

Two had acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs), which meant they had agreed not to commit specific anti-social acts.

They also had cans of alcohol, which were confiscated. They denied playing with fireworks.

Having made sure the officers were dealing well with the situation, we were again on our way and patrolling the area for any other problems.

Later in the evening we attended a number of other incidents, including a domestic violence call where a weapon was involved near Stourport and then a school in Malvern that had been broken into and it was suspected that the offenders were still on the scene.

However, nothing was taken and when we arrived, anyone who had been there earlier had left. We also went on the search for a drinkdriver.

At about 1.30am another call came in regarding a metal recycling plant in Long Marston, Warwickshire, where about nine intruders had been spotted on the scene, and about two-and-a-half tonnes of copper taken.

By this time in the morning, I was tired. But arriving at the site PC Morrell and Saiko were ready for action as they searched the massive site for any signs of the intruders.

The huge piles of metal, machinery and cars cast long shadows over the site and with just a torch and a few spotlights to find our way – and the knowledge that burglars could have been hiding behind anything and just metres away – could have seemed quite spooky and scary to some people.

But I felt very safe.

Unfortunately again, the offenders were nowhere to be found, but Saiko had worked hard and showed himself to be a top police dog.

PC Morrell said: “We have a good relationship. I know him and can tell from the signs that he gives me, just by how he holds himself. We do have to trust each other. He and I are still young to the role, but we learn something new each day and work hard. I have always wanted to be a dog handler and this is my dream job.”

Before the end of the shift at 4am, we went for another patrol around Worcester city centre as the last of the night revellers were making their way home, before PC Morrell checked Saiko over, fed him and then they were off home to bed.

POLICE DOG FACTS

Each dog handler is assigned to a particular area within the patch but these are flexible.

There are four teams of dogs, which include general purpose police dogs and specialist dogs which can either track, find drugs, firearms or cash.

The dog and their handler are very much a partnership, with the dogs living with the police officers at their homes.

While they are expensive resource, police dogs have skills that a human does not possess and in certain situations are invaluable at helping officers.