Nottinghamshire Police’s dogs help bring 112 suspects into custody in 2024
Four-legged police officers have taken down offenders including burglars, dangerous drivers, drug dealers, and more in 2024.
Over the last 12 months, Nottinghamshire Police’s dogs have been deployed nearly 700 times and have helped bring 112 suspects into custody, as well as seizing tens of thousands of pounds worth of illegal drugs and cash and locate additional evidence.
Nottinghamshire Police currently has 15 dogs handlers who make use of 26 dogs — a mixture of general purpose and specialist detection animals — with five new dogs welcomed to the team this year.
The force’s dogs were responsible for finding more than 60 people, with one dangerous driver found hiding in a bush by PD Seth and a knife-man dragged off an e-scooter by PD Wolf, were locked up as a result of police dogs’ hard work.
The team also trained two new bodily fluid detection dogs for other forces, and is now recognised nationally for its training programme.
More of the police dogs’ success stories include:
- PD Rocket finding a suspect hiding in a cramped drainage tunnel near Newark
- PD Rambo shrugging off a heavy road traffic collision to chase down and detain a fleeing criminal
- PD Jax swimming through waist deep water to find two suspects hiding in a drainage pipe
- PD Seth stopping three suspected burglars in their tracks at an allotment site in Mansfield
- PD Chase tracking a runaway driver to a dark wooded area
- PD Night tracking across a busy motorway to find a suspect hiding in dark undergrowth
- PD Max bounding after and detaining a suspect after a builders yard break-in
- PD Loki sniffing out several crucial pieces of evidence in a major investigation.
Sergeant Nick Dachtler, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We provide 24/7 cover across the county and are always ready to deploy reactively and proactively to any job that will benefit from the specialist skills we offer.
“Our dogs and handlers regularly get results that wouldn’t be possible without the involvement of a dog – whether that’s finding a suspect hiding in the dark, chasing people down or sniffing out drugs and other concealed evidence from crime scenes.
“Working and living together as a team, the bond they share is unique in policing and plays a vital role in protecting the public from harm.
“I would like to thank all our officers for their outstanding work this year, and also to express my gratitude to our kennel assistants who do so much to keep our dogs healthy and happy.”
