2. Background The official name of the police branch is dog squad. The Victorian dog squad force was formed in 1975. The dogs can be between 12 months to 2 years when they start their training. Males are normally welcomed into the elite squad for their strength and size but some female dogs are recruited for their small agile bodies. The dogs also have to be a Labrador or a German Sheppard as they are superb in tracking and have a strong sense of smell.
3. Skills and Training The officers in the dog squad branch would have to have patience in training the dogs and they would also have to love animals. The dogs undergo a six month training course before they hit the streets to help track and arrest offenders and sniff out drugs and explosives.
7. Duties Performed Narcotics Detection Dogs Narcotics detection dogs search houses, cars and personal belongings. Female German Shepherds and Labradors are preferred for this type of work, as their smaller frame is more suited to work in confined spaces. When are the narcotics detection dogs used? They can be called upon night or day.
8. Duties Performed Explosives Detection Dogs Explosives detection dogs and handlers search for bombs and other explosive devices in buildings, cars and/or personal belongings. The explosives detection dog squad often work alongside the Special Operations Group and bomb technicians. Female German Shepherds and Labradors are used. When are the explosives detection dogs used? They also regularly visit schools and railway stations at night in the course of routine patrols.
9. Current Activities The Victorian dog squads are always helping and assisting other police branches in searching and catching offenders as well as tracking down missing civilians and various other activities . The dog squads at the moment have recently recruited new German Sheppard puppies which the police branch is keen to train and soon the new German Sheppard's will assist other police dogs.
10. Reasons for the Existence of the Dog Squad In the modern day, none of the various technologies have yet duplicated the natural instincts and abilities of a dog to track a human being or detect hidden persons or property. This is why the Dog Squad was established in 1975.
11. Becoming a Police Officer Steps: Entrance Exam Application Lodgement Background Checks Medical Assessment Fitness and Psychological Selection Panel Final Assessment Candidate Pool
16. Newspaper Article 1 Summary In one day four people have been killed on Victoria’s roads. Two motorists have died after a head on collision on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne. A driver which is yet to be identified has been killed after his car ran into a tree and burst into flames in Barongarook and another man as died from a single-car accident in near Shepparton. In Sale a cyclist has been a victim in a hit and run incident and has been rushed to hospital. Members of the dog squad and the Victorian Air Wing are trying to track down the driver of a white Land Cruiser involved in the hit and run accident.
17. Newspaper Article 2 Sniffer dog finds lost jogger October 30, 2006 SALEM the police sniffer dog has saved a lost jogger from a freezing night out in the cold. The seven-year-old german shepherd and handler Sen-Constable Wayne McNamara found the jogger in dense bushland at Muskvale, near Daylesford, early yesterday. About 6pm on Saturday the jogger, 31, left for his regular evening run with his eight-month old greyhound, but he took a wrong turn and got lost. As night fell the cold forced him to cuddle the greyhound in a bid to keep warm as police and SES volunteers launched a search about 9pm. They searched for him for about three hours before the dog squad was called in. It took Salem just 30 minutes to track down the jogger. Sen-Constable McNamara said it was a combination of good luck and good management that had led to the jogger's discovery. "I just went for a bit of a drive out into the forest. I drove out about 4km, then I yelled out and heard a 'Cooee' come back," he said. "I walked straight into the bush in the direction it was coming from. "The dog's got a good whiff of him and pulled me along for about the last 300m." Sen-Constable McNamara said he and Salem found the jogger on a track, huddled up with his pet dog. He was clad in running shorts and singlet, with the mercury down to 2C. Senior Constable Wayne McNamara and his dog Salem.
18. Newspaper Article 2 Summary After a jogger went missing with his grey hound on Saturday afternoon a search and rescue party was called in and with no luck after 3 hours the dog squad was called in and Salem, a seven year old German Sheppard found the jogger in dense bushland at Muskvale near Daylesford. The Senior Constable and Salem, the German Sheppard found the jogger huddled on a path with his pet dog dressed in a singlet and shorts with the temperature down to 2˚C.
19. Newspaper Article 3 Police Dog Bites Man November 07, 2006 A MELBOURNE man accused of vandalising cars was bitten by a police dog early today, after he was found hiding under a bed. Victoria Police spokeswoman Katherine Jess said it was the man's family who called police just before 2am, after the 29-year-old allegedly damaged cars parked in the city's east. "The incident began when the man, armed with an axe, was walking along Stud Rd, Wantirna South, and damaging cars," Ms Jess said today. He fled when officers arrived, prompting a search by the police dog squad which eventually led to a bedroom in his house. "The man emerged from under a bed and attempted to attack the handler," Ms Jess said. "Protecting his boss, the dog bit the man on the upper arm.“ The man was then taken to the Knox Police Station, and Ms Jess said he was likely to be charged with assault police and criminal damage. No one else was injured during the incident.
20. Newspaper Article 3 Summary The dog squad was called in to search a Melbourne man’s house whom was accused of vandalising cars in the early morning of November 7, 2006. The police dog led the police officers into the offenders bedroom where he appeared from under the bed and tried to attack the police officer handler. The dog only protecting his master bit the man on the upper arm. The police officers believed the offender would be charged with assault of police and criminal damage.
