"One of the hardest skillsets" as force dogs trained to find bodies in water
Two West Mercia Police dog handlers and their pooches have become the first in the Midlands to be specially trained in searching for people who may have drowned.
Known as victim recovery dogs (VRD), West Mercia Police is one of only a handful of police forces that have these animals in their dog unit and often assist other forces in helping to locate bodies in water.
PC Steve Morrell, force lead for victim recovery dogs, said: “This is one of the hardest skillsets within the police dog portfolio, so it’s a real credit to the handlers, the training that’s gone in with the dogs and the continued training going forward.”
PC James Benjamin and PD Lupo, and PC Nick Davies and PD Jabba, are now able to search for bodies in water.
PC Nick Davies said: “We are very fortunate as a dog team to have the ability to search the rivers and quarries of the three counties we serve.
“For many years our police dogs have carried out extensive searches along the banks of a river or the side of a quarry but now we can continue our search by putting these dogs into a boat and using their skills to help locate people who are in water”.
Following extensive training these dogs can sit beside an officer in a boat and they will use their skills of tracking scents to locate somebody who is underwater. Once the dog is confident it has found the correct scent, it will then let the officer know who in turn will direct a diver to the correct location.
PC Benjamin added: “When somebody goes missing it is one of the most upsetting and stressful moments in a family’s life and it is our job to help find these people and give these families the answers they are looking for. The additional skills our dogs now have will complement our search capability and provide vital support to our search teams.”
