Written question asked by Lady Hermon (Ulster Unionist Party) on Monday, 24 July 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 October 2006. It was answered by Paul Goggins (Labour) on Monday, 9 October 2006 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Police Dogs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police dogs are in active use by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, broken down by district command unit; and how often and in what circumstances they were deployed in the last 12 months.

Answer

Police handlers and their dogs are not based in districts, rather they are attached to tactical support groups through both regional operational command units (urban and rural). The compliment is as follows:

	Number
Urban
General Purpose dogs	14
Explosive dogs	2
Total	16

Rural
General Purpose dogs	10
Explosive dogs	4
Total	14

It is not possible to break down the exact deployment of this resource as dogs are used on routine mobile patrols responding to pre-planned events or DCU calls for assistance. Dogs are normally deployed on public order, tracking and search duties.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 450 c332W;450 c336W; 89741
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Dogs Police Service of Northern Ireland
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk

Police Dogs

Secondary information

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