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Trans-Tasman Police Dogs Pounce At Tigerland!

With many hundreds of Police Dogs working in Australia and New Zealand, how does one prove that their canine cop is the best? Well on Friday the 12th of November 1999, ace reporter Peter Comatas from the GSDCV went to the Punt Road Oval in the heart of Tigerland to find out how.

Usually this stadium sees members of the Richmond Football Club training in their beloved yellow and black, but not on this day, for it was transformed into a stadium of canine excellence by hosting part of the 1999 Australasian Police Dog Trials.

On this exciting day members of the General Public were given a very special opportunity to view the unique bond between Police Dogs and their handlers. Melbourne turned on the weather as almost a thousand dog enthusiasts sat in the beautiful sunshine and watched Police Dog Teams being put through their paces. During the day the enthusiastic crowd showed its' appreciation for the high level of skill that the various Police Dog Teams have attained through dedicated training.

Competing in these Trials were teams from the New Zealand Police Force, the Queensland Police Service, the New South Wales Police Service and the Victoria Police Dog Squad. The Police Dogs consisted of seven German Shepherds and one Rottweiler. Although a number of different breeds of dogs have been used for Police work around the world, it was no surprise that German Shepherd Dogs made up most of the field. In fact the German Shepherd Dog is considered by many to be the most suitable breed for Police work due to it's intelligence and versatility. German Shepherds can be found serving in the majority of Police Forces throughout the world that utilise K-9 units.

The Australasian Police Dog Trials are open to the New Zealand Police Force and all the Australian Police Services. A maximum of two Dog Teams from each competing Police Agency is allowed. The 1999 Field consisted of the following Police Dog Teams;

Constable Keith Mitchell with Police Dog Zorba (New Zealand)

Constable Garry Donnelly with Police Dog Zac (New Zealand)

Senior Constable Steve Collier & Police Dog Ruger (New South Wales)

Senior Constable Steve Morris & Police Dog Marley (New South Wales)

Senior Constable Sean Chapman with Police Dog Bodie (Queensland)

Senior Constable Glen Wilson with Police Dog Geordie (Queensland)

Senior Constable John Murray with Police Dog Gus (Victoria)

Senior Constable Brad Forster with Police Dog Haegar (Victoria)

The Trials are guaranteed to be of a high standard as all the competing Police Dog Teams have first to prove themselves amongst their peers before taking on the international competition. The standard required to be part of the final eight Police Dog Teams is extremely high and making the Trials is a great achievement in itself. For example the New Zealand Police Dog Team was selected from 120 Police Dog Teams across New Zealand. Various Regional Trials were conducted in New Zealand until 7 teams qualified for the New Zealand finals. The first place winner Constable Keith Mitchell with Police Dog Zorba and runner up Constable Garry Donnelly with Police Dog Zac were then eligible to represent the New Zealand Police Force in the Australasian Police Dog Trials. Similar efforts in qualifying were required by the various Australian State Police Forces.

The 1999 Australasian Police Dog Trials were conducted over a seven day period. The competition had started on Sunday the 7th of November 1999 and concluded on Saturday the 13th of November 1999. The majority of the event was hosted in and around the Victoria Police Dog Squad Training Complex at Attwood Victoria. Apart from the Friday, the rest of the event was not open to the public due to the need for the Police Dog Units to retain some confidentiality of their operational tactics and training methods. We must not forget that although the Police Dogs seem to be playing a great fun game, they and their handlers have often to deal with the more dangerous members of our society.

The unusual step of opening up one day of the event to the general public, was seen by the Victoria Police Dog Squad as a way to repay some of the valuable assistance given to the Dog Squad by members of the German Shepherd Dog and Rottweiler Dog fraternity. Both the German Shepherd and Rottweiler Dog fraternities, assist them by donating suitable dogs for training and by being puppy walkers. A strong turn out of German Shepherd Dog Club of Victoria Members and Rottweiler Club of Victoria Members made for a well supported day.

The competition highlighted many facets of Police Dog Work. Disciplines such as Tracking, Building and Area Searches, Criminal Work, Article Searching, Obedience and Agility were some of the important areas covered. These activities highlighted some of the special skills that Police Dogs possess. Contrary to popular opinion, the Police Dogs greatest asset is his sense of smell and not his ability to bite. The ability to ground and air scent is probably the greatest advantage Police Dogs have over people in relation to Police Work. The speed with which a Police Dog can search an area saves many valuable Police man hours. The ability to track down offenders or lost persons provides great assistance to other operational Police. Police Dogs can also locate important evidence which may not be readily visible to the human eye. Police Dogs can also assist deterring crime in times of serious unrest.

The Punt Road Oval crowd were able to see Police Dogs in action demonstrating a number of the various disciplines for which they are used. The first exercise was an Obedience Demonstration which was not dissimilar to an ANKC Heel Free Routine. The main difference was that the Dog Handlers marched instead of walking. Some in Particular looked quite animated as their arms swung up and down. This did not make for easy hand signals, but considering the occupation of these handlers, their hands probably were required elsewhere! The Police Dogs however were very attentive and focused on their handlers and the routines were quite polished.

A serious of jumps, which included a standing start vertical hurdle of about four feet, a scale high jump of about six foot six and a running broad jump of about twelve feet, all had to be attempted by the various Police Dogs. The highlight of this section was Gus the Rottweiler, who proved just how quick and agile a Rottweiler can be if he is kept to the right proportions. Police Dog Gus helped remind the crowd of the valuable work done by heroic Police Dog Butch, who was the focus of wide spread media exposure after receiving life threatening wounds in a critical incident with an armed and dangerous offender. The crowd was pleased to learn that Butch has made a full recovery and is back serving the Victorian Community.

A Dumbbell retrieve on the flat finished off the first part of the competition. The Judging Panel for each exercise was made up of a representative of each of the Police Forces. The four Judges would score each of the exercises against a set criteria. The highest and lowest marks would be discarded and the score would then be averaged from the remaining two Judges. Another Judge would actually give the orders for the exercises and explain what was required to each competition. The aim of each Police Dog Team was to score maximum marks for each exercise.

The competitors conducted themselves with great sportsmanship and it was obvious that a great amount of respect existed between the various Police Agencies. I would be remiss, however, for not mentioning the fact that the Kiwi's kept expressing concerns over the judging. Apparently they have not forgiven us for that underarm incident from many years ago, and are still smarting from their recent defeat in the Rugby Union World Cup. Although I suspect that these concerns were very much tongue in cheek, it was surprising to see how many people still remember that incident. In a similar tongue in cheek style a public address was made that people could receive "free" New Zealand All Black clothing at the rear of the grandstand. This joke backfired however as crowds of people started to line up for the clothing. It may well be that we are fonder of Kiwi's than we think!

The second half of the days proceedings comprised various Criminal Work exercises. The first exercise involved a Police Dog being sent to apprehend an offender. As the "criminal" ran from the Police Dog Team the Police Dog would close the gap with amazing speed. As the Police Dog came in close to the criminal he was then given a command to abandon his pursuit. This demonstrated the absolute control a Handler must have over his Police Dog in the real world and clearly demonstrated that uncontrollable and dangerous dogs have no place in the Police Force. After the Police Dog returned to his handler the exercise continued with the Police Dog being allowed to apprehend the criminal. The degree of control required by handlers over their dogs, was again demonstrated by the requirement of the handler to call the dog off the criminal.

The Test of Courage was another exciting element of the Criminal Work displayed on the day. This involved another pursuit of a criminal, but required the Police Dog to ignore simulated gunfire as he made his approach to the criminal. After tackling the criminal, the Police Dog would have to watch the criminal as he was searched by the handler. The criminal would then attack the Police Officer and the Police Dog would then automatically rush in and defend the handler. After the criminal had been secured the Police Dog would help escort him from the arena. The actual Police Dogs involved showed lots of enthusiasm and judging by the amount of tail wagging they really appeared to enjoy their work.

The grand finale of the day was a two dog assault against an armed offender. Constable Keith Mitchell with Police Dog Zorba and Constable Garry Donnelly with Police Dog Zac worked together to apprehend a criminal by using two dogs to subdue him. With blistering speed the Police Dogs approached from different directions to neutralise both sides of the offenders body. The fact that these two Police Dogs had not performed this exercise together was truly amazing. The whole crowd and even the other Police Dog Handlers were amazed by the spectacular teamwork shown by the New Zealanders.

After all the dogs had been through their paces, there was a photo opportunity provided to members of the public. Both Senior Constable John Murray and Senior Constable Brad Forster, had their families with them. Seeing Police Dogs Gus and Hager sitting amongst their respective families, one could easily mistake them for any other beloved family pet. This was probably the highlight for the dog loving community that attended on the day, the fact that all the dogs were so well cared for and loved!

The overall competition came to its dramatic conclusion at 6.00pm on Saturday 13 November 1999. The awards were handed out during the Dog Squads Christmas function. Making the presentations was Assistant Commissioner Ray Shuey from Traffic & Operations Support. As an acknowledgment of the outstanding effort required just to qualify for the event, all eight competitors were awarded with a Certificate of Participation. A plaque of appreciation was also presented to the Victoria Police Dog Squad for hosting the trials. The award for the overall individual champion was very close, with the top three positions being only separated by 5.5 points. The place winners were as follows;

Overall 1st place was Senior Constable Glen Wilson from Queensland with 1192.5 points.

Overall 2nd place was Senior Constable Brad Forster from Victoria with 1191 points.

Overall 3rd place was Senior Constable Collier from New South Wales with 1187 points

After a very tight finish, Senior Constable Glen Wilson with Police Dog Geordie was declared the 1999 Australian and New Zealand Police Dog Handlers Champion. They were awarded overall first place and received the Perpetual Trans-Tasman Police Dog Shield at the presentation. Senior Constable Glen Wilson and Police Dog Geordie also received The Air New Zealand Cup for the best performance for Criminal Work, with a score of 595 points out of a possible 600 points.

The Victoria Police Dog Squad also had cause for celebrations, as The Graham Bracey Teams Trophy for the State or Country scoring the highest combined marks was awarded to the Victoria Police, with a total of 2286 points. Next closest team with 2266 points, was the New Zealand Police.

The Obedience Cup for obedience control, was awarded to Senior Constable Brad Forster who scored a total of 383 points from a possible total of 470 points. This award included marks for Agility, Send Away Redirection, Distance Control, Speak on Command, Food Refusal, Out of Sight Sit, Out of Sight Down and a Dumbbell Retrieve. Constable Keith Mitchel from New Zealand was a very close second with 382 points. The highly regarded Paul Deimos Memorial Shield for Tracking, was awarded to Senior Constable Collier who scored a very impressive 206 points out of a possible 210 points with Police Dog Ruger.

The Australasian Police Dog Trials formed part of the 1999 Australian and New Zealand Police Games. The host agency for these games was the Victoria Police and as such responsibility for the Police Dog Trials fell to the Victoria Police Dog Squad. Special thanks needs to go to Sergeant Shaun McGovern and the other members of the Dog Squad who did a magnificent job in organizing and running the event.

The competition first came about in 1986 after the Australasian Police and Service Dog Association took up an invitation from the Council of Sports to promote the way Dogs help people. This competition helps develop a standard of performance throughout Australasia and enables the various Police Dog Units to exchange ideas and training methods. The Victoria Police Dog Squad is always on the lookout for new recruits. They are looking for German Shepherds and Rottweilers aged between 9 months to 36 months. The dogs need to be very keen retrievers. For further details please contact the Victoria Police Dog squad on 03 9333 1300.

Peter Comatas

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