A police officer playing the part of an armed man is tackled by one of the force’s dogs. (0570722)
DOG displays, a man being Tasered, and bombs being detonated were just some of the attractions on offer at the police’s open day on Saturday.
The event at Hautes Capelles Primary School was to launch its recruitment drive. Displays by departments ranging from the dive team to the major incident unit kept the crowd entertained.
The day was also designed to show islanders the variety of work officers do and the capabilities the force has. Hundreds of families attended and the dog display, which involved a German shepherd chasing down a man wielding a gun before the firearms unit stepped in, was a particular favourite with youngsters.
Dog handler PC Mark Naftel, who has worked in that section for 10 years, said Twix, a sprocker – a cross between a springer and a cocker – enjoyed mixing with the children.
‘If we are carrying out a drug warrant, the dog can probably search a room in a house in about five minutes,’ he said, ‘whereas it would take four or five officers an hour-and-a-half to do the same room.’
He said the force had four working dogs, two for drug searches and two for firearms, although they are all dual-trained.
‘They can search for heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, Ecstasy and cannabis,’ he said.
‘They are absolutely invaluable.’
Three-year-old George Barneby is police mad and his mum, Emma, said the dog display was his favourite.
‘George loves the police,’ she said. ‘He is crazy about police cars, dogs, anything to do with the force.
‘He has handcuffs, notepads, the whole kit at home. We also watched the dive team and the self-defence display where they used a stab vest.’
Firearms specialist Sergeant John Tostevin said the day was an excellent opportunity to speak to young people about guns.
‘It’s great that so many children have come,’ he said.
‘We are able to put across the reasons why we need them to be responsible when they handle replicas or anything that looks like a real firearm.
‘It has been a great opportunity for us to educate them and their parents.’
Sergeant Ian Treacy showed people how officers use an endoscope to search for bombs and drugs in confined spaces.
‘If we are going to search rooms, we would use this to look in voids so that we don’t have to rip someone’s house apart,’ he said.
Three units where, if called into action, there is a serious risk of harm to the officers and the public, are the bomb disposal, major incident, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear teams.
The bomb disposal team put on a display where they carried out a controlled explosion of a device which had been placed in a car.
Inspector Terry Coule said the teams had shown the variety of equipment needed to deal with a major incident.
‘This is the bad end of the job if you like,’ he said.
‘You do not come across this stuff in the normal run of the mill duties of being an officer. We deal with things like the recovery of human remains or dealing with potential terrorist attacks.’
He said the three units worked closely together.
‘This area has the greatest potential for harm to the public so that’s why we have to put the training in to deal with these matters,’ he said.
One youngster who is determined to become a police officer is 11-year-old Tyler Bourgaize.
‘I have been interested in going into the police force for a while now,’ he said.
‘The firearms was the best part because I like looking at the different things they use. Today has made me even more keen and I would like to go into the firearms or forensic departments.’ �
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