In a remarkable display of efficiency and skill, PD ‘Hox’ played an instrumental role in arresting two suspected burglars in Lewes, Sussex, all within an hour of the reported break-in.
The incident unfolded in the early hours of 31 August when a local shop owner dialled 999 at 03:29 hours to report an attempted break-in at his Station Road premises.
Sussex Police officers arrived at the scene just four minutes later, at 03:33 hours.
A 14-year-old girl was promptly arrested at 03:35 hours as she attempted to leave the property.
Meanwhile, her accomplice, a 16-year-old boy, had already fled. However, PD Hox quickly tracked him down, leading to his arrest at 04:19 hours.
All the stolen items were recovered and returned to the shop owner. The suspects have been bailed with conditions, including that they do not associate with each other and that they engage with youth offending teams.
Police dogs like PD Hox are an indispensable asset in the fight against criminals. They are employed in diverse roles, ranging from search and rescue operations to detecting drugs like cocaine, heroin, and cannabis.
These highly trained canines are also equipped to locate bombs and other explosives and can be deployed to attack suspects or safeguard their handlers in precarious situations.
According to statistics, approximately 2,000 police dogs are utilised by all 43 police forces in England and Wales, as well as the British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police.
These dogs are engaged in an average of 250,000 emergency calls each year.
Their duties include not only search and rescue, and drug and bomb detection but also serving as a deterrent to crime and building better community relations.
Training police dogs is a rigorous process that can span up to two years.
It includes obedience training, tracking, and various forms of detection.
Every police dog is paired with a handler responsible for its training, care, and overall well-being.
Typically, police dogs retire at age ten and are often adopted by their handlers or placed in other suitable homes.
The swift apprehension of the suspected burglars in Lewes serves as a testament to the vital contribution police dogs make to law enforcement in the UK, excelling in many roles ranging from search and rescue to crime deterrence.
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12 & 14 breaking into premises in the early hours? What is going on? Upon conviction, these kids need to be detained in a young offenders establishment for a decent period so that they can learn the consequences of crime. Next and subsequent convictions will result in twice the length of time in goal as the preceding sentence.