Fed chair says an uplift in dog unit funding is hugely welcomed

A £420,000 cash boost for South Yorkshire Police’s dog units is “brilliant news” which will be a great boost to frontline policing, the force’s Federation has said.

Steve Kent, Federation Chair, said: “From a frontline police perspective, and from my own experience, the presence of a dogs unit makes a huge difference in incidents which usually involve an offender being nearby or having escaped or been on the run.

“A dog handler’s presence at live, public order situations makes a real difference to officers out there, knowing that they’ve got that extra back-up.”

Before austerity, a dog handler would be available on most shifts, which was a well-used resource which made a real difference, Steve said. But cuts to the force have seen units disappear.

Steve added: “That’s been missed for the last decade because there’s only been a handful of dog handlers across the force, but the uplift will be hugely welcome by the public as well as by officers. This is a really good news story.”

South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings has given funding of £427,634 to improve the facilities in Sheffield and to train more handlers.

The force currently has 16 handlers who train the dogs to take part in a whole wide range of operations, from pursuits to drugs and weapons searches or anti-terror operations. The roads policing team also uses dogs in human trafficking operations and other organised crime.

Supt Paul McCurry told the Yorkshire Post: “The money will be spent on enhancing our existing facilities at Niagara to improve the kennels, office space and most importantly training facilities for dogs and dog handlers.

“The refurbished facilities will ensure we have the right infrastructure to recruit additional dog handlers and dogs in the future.”