Police Dogs Passing Out Parade

Wonderful to be able to join the Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick at the Metropolitan Police Dog Training Establishment on 9 February 2022 to watch the passing out and commendation ceremony for 3 great dogs and their handlers in the presence of proud families and police officers. An exuberant event.

Dogs live with their handlers (and families) from a young age to create close bonds and to enable trust to build through intense training. This allows the handlers to exert control over the dogs when in action in stressed situations. Dogs are trained for different work; to sniff out explosives, drugs, or deter people who pose a real risk to others. Some dogs are being trained as mental health support dogs to help defuse a situation which may spiral out of control. More to be done on this.

A great opportunity to see a demonstration of the dogs’ abilities before the certificates of commendation were presented by the Commissioner. Before then a tour of the kennels to learn about the breeding programme and the animal welfare arrangements in place, which are clearly paramount and to meet a very engaged group of officers. The devotion of kennel staff shone through, as did the dedication of all to hard work in the interests of all dogs on site.