A breakdown of specialist Dogs currently in the Metropolitan Police Dog Unit
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.034359
I note you seek access to the following information:
1) As of 29 November 2023 The breakdown of the specialist of the usage of the Dogs currently in the Metropolitan Police Dog Unit eg 25 Dogs are General Purpose Dogs, 20 Dogs are Public Order Dogs, 3 Dogs are used to deal with Explosives etc in tabular form.
2) As of 29 November 2023 The number of Dog Kennels by location within the Metropolitan Police Area and that are currently in use in tabular form
3) As of 29 November 2023 The names of all training courses that are available to officers based in Met Dog Unit; Eg Major Public Order Training to deal with violence riots etc; The duration of these courses. To be further assistance I'm only asking for the training courses that are available to officers within Dog Unit
4) During the years of 2022 and to-date in 2023 has the Metropolitan Police Dog Unit ever request the loan of a specialist type of dog from an external agency; where the Metropolitan Police didn't have that type of specialist dog within their resources and the dog was required in an police matter; if the answer is yes to Q4 please provide the type of dog that was supplied to Met
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.
Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
Q1 - As of 29 November 2023 The breakdown of the specialist of the usage of the Dogs currently in the Metropolitan Police Dog Unit eg 25 Dogs are General Purpose Dogs, 20 Dogs are Public Order Dogs, 3 Dogs are used to deal with Explosives etc in tabular form.
My response is confined to working licensed dogs and not those in the puppy system or training.
120 General Purpose Dogs of these, 34 are Firearms Support Trained, 70 are Public Order Trained and 12 are USAR (Urban Search & Rescue)
50 Explosive Detection Dogs
40 Drugs, Firearms and Cash Detection Dogs
10 Digital media Detection Dogs
13 Forensic Evidence Detection Dogs
Q2 - As of 29 November 2023 The number of Dog Kennels by location within the Metropolitan Police Area and that are currently in use in tabular form
1 Licensed Kennel facility for the kennelling of police owned dogs.
Q3 - As of 29 November 2023 The names of all training courses that are available to officers based in Met Dog Unit; Eg Major Public Order Training to deal with violence riots etc; The duration of these courses. To be further assistance I'm only asking for the training courses that are available to officers within Dog Unit
The DSU officers have access to all MPS run courses in addition to the above discipline that their dogs are trained in.
Q4 - During the years of 2022 and to-date in 2023 has the Metropolitan Police Dog Unit ever request the loan of a specialist type of dog from an external agency; where the Metropolitan Police didn't have that type of specialist dog within their resources and the dog was required in an police matter; if the answer is yes to Q4 please provide the type of dog that was supplied to Met
No such requests made, all tasking’s completed by MPS officers and dogs.