In June 2020, the Dog Operations Unit introduced the 'Class of 2020'- Police Puppies Banjo, Barney, Bomber, Cooper and Chaos. Today the first two Police Dogs (PDs) from Class of 2020- Police Dog Bomber and Police Dog Cooper, along with their handlers graduated.
PDs Bomber and Cooper started their training journey in SAPOL's Puppy Development Program, a 12 week program designed to assess and ensure the puppies will be suitable for the rigours of being a SAPOL working dog. The early stages of development focus on socialisation, tracking and searching exercises, training in obedience and forming a strong bond with their Dog Operations handler.
Following completion of the Puppy Development Program PD Cooper and PD Bomber then went on to complete a 12-week General Purpose Police Dog course. This involved an intensive training course focusing on obedience exercises, agility, tracking, area and building searching as well as criminal apprehension techniques. These are all tasks the two German Shepherds will be performing from today. Both dogs have been put through all manners of operationally focused scenarios to ensure they are ready for the job ahead of them.
Police Dog Cooper graduated with Brevet Sergeant Sarah Price. Prior to PD Cooper, Brevet Sergeant Price had worked in the Dog Operation Unit's Specialist Detection team with Police Dog Xera, a Passive Alert Drug Detection Dog.
PD Bomber graduated with Sergeant Simon Rosenhahn who was the handler of PD Ben until he retired in June 2021.
Operations Manager, Dog Operations Unit, Senior Sergeant Kurt Newcombe said "It takes a very special and unique dog to graduate from our General Purpose Dog Courses. The dogs must demonstrate the highest standards of obedience, control, nerve stability, physical and mental toughness. Not only do Police Dogs Bomber and Cooper demonstrate these traits, they both also demonstrate their highly social nature, fitting incredibly well into their family lives as well. We're really excited to again to see the hard work our team has put into our breeding and development program come to fruition and I have no doubt we'll see the operational successes of these two very soon."
Does working with Police Dogs interest you? Applications are currently open for Police Officers to join SAPOL. As a Police Officer, you will have ongoing opportunities for growth and development with a structured career progression program. With over 40+ career options, this could see you eventually working with the dynamic Dog Operations Unit. In addition, 114 Protective Security Officer roles to support SAPOL's response to COVID-19 are now open. Do you see yourself in the uniform and are ready for a challenging and rewarding career? To apply now or to register for an upcoming information seminar to find out more about the roles (see dates below), please visit: https://www.police.sa.gov.au/join-us
Information seminars
Protective Security Officers- 13 August 2021 at 10:00am-11:30am (online).
Police Officers- 24 August 2021 at 6:30pm-8:00pm at the State Administration Centre, Adelaide.
Image above: PD Bomber
Image above: PD Cooper
