Nottscops and their Dogs

I've always had a funny feeling about police dogs. You know, you're never quite sure who's side they are on - yours or the criminal. I used to hear so many accounts of cops and even dog handlers being bitten that I seemed to build up a bit of a distrust, or was it healthy respect, for the hairy brutes...and the dogs!

When I joined the job in 1974 I was full of awe when at a 10/11 (burglar alarm call) a dog-man would arrive (Delta 6 in those days) and the handler would get out of his Mark 1 Ford Escort van leaving the dog to bark its head off in the van while we would all walk round the place. I could never understand why they didn't get the dog out and walk round with it in the first place just in case Burglar Bill made a run for it, but as a fresh faced probationer I knew my place. Mind you, once out of the van and running free, they used to bloody terrify me. I'm sure some of them weren't real dogs at all; more like grizzly bears!

In those days the dog section, as was the mounted section, came under the Traffic Division. Despite several unsuccessful periods of allocating dog handlers to individual sub divisions, they have always remained as a headquarters resource, albeit under frequently changing department names e.g. Operational Support etc.

Another thing that has always puzzled me about police dogs. Is a dog sergeant's dog more qualified than a PC's dog? Do German Shepherds have some sort of rank structure or pecking order amongst them and if so, how do the dogs know?

Towards the end of my service and as a custody sergeant, I was still in awe of police dogs. I lost count of the number of times I had to call out the police surgeon because one of my customers had been bitten by a police dog. No one ever considered calling out the vet after the dog had eaten part of its prey and by the looks of some of the customers food poisoning should have been a consideration.

More Dog Section Photos