Police Dog Handler facing prosecution.

A Nottinghamshire police dog handler is facing prosecution after two dogs died when they were left in a car. The German Shepherdswere left in the handler’s car at Nottinghamshire Police headquarters on June 30.

Temperatures approached 30C that day in Arnold on the outskirts of Nottingham. On the afternoon the officer had gone into the station, with his car allegedly parked a short distance from a new £300,000 kennels complex.

The officer in question has been suspended and an internal inquiry is being conducted. 

The RSPCA said: “Legal proceedings will be brought against the Nottinghamshire police officer for causing unnecessary suffering to the two animals.”

Cheaper by the dozen.

To make the CTCC (City Town and County Constabulary) Dogs section more efficient (to save money) the leadership elite has decided after consultation with our neighbours at the NCC (Neighbourhood and Corporate Constabulary) to amalgamate our two Dogs sections.

By combining the two sections it is deemed to be a far better use of the staffing, fleet and dogs to produce a more dynamic (cheaper), efficient, responsive (cheaper) and cost effective (cheaper) support to make our communities feel safer.

This is not simply about saving money (making it cheaper) but is responding to the combined corporate needs of all our partners and offers a more financially viable (cheaper) and sustainable (cheaper)  dog support service.

The combined numbers of operational handlers will be reduced by 12% to make the joint CTCC & NCC canine support partnership a far more responsive (cheaper) and effective (cheaper) entity.

The reduction in officers will result in real term efficiency savings (cheaper)in vehicle fleet, fleet maintenance, dog food and veterinary charges, uniform and other stores/requisitions and allow for better allocation of the efficiency savings towards better targeted and strategic aims that will make our communities safer and offer a more sustainable specialist support provision. There will be additional resource savings by a reduced level of bureaucracy, administration and buildings/estates demands. The level of leadership will remain at the current levels to ensure a smooth transition and ensure that the importance of the aims of the venture are reinforced, given effective direction and remain fit for purpose.  

Costs for the implementation of the relocation plan will be met out of the efficiency savings and be phased into operation during the next financial review period.

The senior finance review committee will meet to discuss the various phases of implementation and a consultation document will be drawn up to keep all staff fully aware of the progress of this innovative partnership venture.

The new CTCC & NCC Canine partnership, as it will be known, will continue to deliver a highly specialised and valuable support resource to the communities of both partnership agencies and fully support the Policing aims of the organisations. The leadership of both the CTCC and NCC have  welcomed and fully support the close corporate liaison this forward thinking and important decision has brought.  No answers yet to new location costs, increased travel costs and more travel to new location, changes to kenneling to name but a few. Less dogs to cover the same geographical area.

More efficient, effective, financially sustainable ?

But definitely not cheaper ?

Police Dogs die in vehicle.

Well after this, and this,  some of the other media headlines and some of the comments put onto the news forums and elsewhere, as well as some of the messages I have seen, it seems that all Police Dog Handlers are now viewed as the scum of the earth in some areas.

Get one thing straight.

This is extremely tragic news.

Not for the person or persons involved, not even for the Police Force involved, but for the dogs.

No dog deserves to lose its life stuck inside a overheated van, if this is what actually occurred.

However, there are many things I do not yet know.

How long the van was left and its position in relation to shade or cover ?

Was the vehicle a dog van or a private vehicle or a vehicle suitable to carry dogs in (fitted with a secure carrier or cage) ?

Were any doors or windows left open ?

Were any doors or windows closed and if so for what reason ?

Did the vehicle have air conditioning and was it left on ?

Why was the vehicle left for a length of time to allow this to happen ?

Had any of the dogs had any history of respiratory illness ?

These questions have not yet been answered in a public forum and yet seem to have been judged already.

Irresponsible actions that lead to this type of tragedy cannot be condoned and if a lack of care or neglect can be proved the person or persons responsible should be punished for what has been allowed to occur.

This will be of no consequence to the unfortunate dogs and will go some little way to show that the Police are liable as anyone else for what they get wrong.

This will be enough for some and will never, ever be enough for others.

Dogs handlers are seriously caring about the welfare of their dogs.

I have assumed that this is without question, clearly I might be wrong in this case because of the outcome of Tuesdays events.

All Police officers engaged in the training, care and welfare of our dogs will feel very uncomfortable about this.

It is not because of the media coverage, or the negative impact caused by comments and statements from experts, nor the chance given to anti-police elements to have another opportunity to put the boot in again.

It is because of the death of two dogs in a way that simply should not happen and should have been avoidable.

Until I know more I cannot offer any other comment.

Trust me on this, every Police dog handler, and I mean every single Police dog handler in the country, wants to know what happened and how it was allowed to happen. Simply because it should not have happened.

Please feel free to continue to put up your comments.