POLICE DOG — GERALDTON
424. Hon RICK MAZZA to the minister representing Minister
for Police:
My question is in regard to the invaluable presence of
working police dogs in deterring and discouraging unlawful behaviour in large
regional centres.
(1) Is the
minister aware that the canine kennels at Geraldton Police Station have
remained empty for the past six months?
(2) Can the
minister confirm that this is due to a new requirement that police dogs are now
also required to have drug detection capabilities?
(3) If yes to
(2), why was the previous dog skilled in deterring and discouraging unlawful
behaviour not retained at Geraldton until it could be replaced by another dog?
(4) When will Geraldton police have their dog returned or
replaced?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of this question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Police.
(1) The Geraldton
police dog is kennelled at home with his handler and the kennels at Geraldton
Police Station are not normally used to house the police dog. This is normal
practice. The Geraldton police dog handler was on leave for the period 15 December
2018 to 18 February 2019. During this period, the Geraldton police dog was
kennelled at the Maylands canine section, which is normal practice.
In February 2019, the Geraldton
police dog and handler were assessed by the canine training section and did not
meet the required standard for deployment. The Geraldton police dog was
returned to the canine section for retraining. The Geraldton police dog handler
was transferred from Geraldton on compassionate grounds on 8 April 2019. This
transfer occurred one year prior to the officer's scheduled replacement
date.
(2) The canine
section is in the process of training a replacement canine. The Geraldton
police dog will be replaced by a dual-purpose canine in accordance with the
current deployment model for regional Western Australia. The WA Police Force
canine section continues to support the midwest–Gascoyne district by
deploying canine resources as required.
(3) Not applicable.
(4) The Geraldton and midwest–Gascoyne
canine will be trained and in place by October 2019.