Force’s Dog Unit to appear in BBC Frontline Fightback series

Staffordshire Police’s dog unit is set to showcase its expertise in the latest instalment of the BBC’s Frontline Fightback series.

It comes after the force became one of the first in the UK to roll-out specialist body-armour for their police dogs, following the legislation of ‘Finn’s Law’ back in June 2019. (‘Finn’s Law’ delivered to protect brave service animals - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

As part of filming for the series, camera crews were treated to a demonstration at the force’s headquarters in Stafford, courtesy of PC Sam Jones and his fierce four-legged companion, PD Vixen.

The Dutch Herder and her handler were filmed as they moved to detain PC Matt Holding, who was acting as an armed offender in a public place.

The demonstration showed how the armour would protect the dog in the event of encountering a sharp article or blunt-force trauma to their torso, an area which was previously targeted by the man who attacked Finn back in 2016.

Sergeant Mathew Butterworth, who features in the programme, said: “This was an excellent way for the force to demonstrate the importance of this vital piece of kit.

“The lightweight armour is custom-made to better protect police dogs – both general purpose and drugs dogs - giving them protection against knives, bullets, spikes and impact from blunt objects.

“Our dogs are like family.

“Their policing role is just as important as that of their human counterparts and it is an excellent decision from the force to introduce this protection to ensure they are able to execute their duties as safely as possible.

“We now have 28 fully-qualified dogs under our tutelage and this investment in protective armour significantly improves our ability to respond to the most serious of incidents and ensure our communities are protected.”

The programme will feature at 10am on Friday 1 July and will be repeated at 6.30am Saturday 2 July.