A NORTHERN Irish police dog has won a prestigious British policing award for finding a missing woman in below zero temperature last Autumn.
Four-year-old Dutch Herder Jake and his PSNI handler are the first from the Northern Irish force to win the the ‘Police Dog Team Humanitarian Action of the Year Award 2016’.
Jake and his handler were deployed as part of a search operation to help find a vulnerable female who had gone missing in Northern Ireland last autumn.
Chief Superintendent Kevin Dunwoody, from the PSNI’s Operational Support Department, who nominated the pair for the award said: “This is an award that has been well earned and is well-deserved.
"All our police dog teams are vital in situations where we need to locate missing people as soon as possible.
“On the night in question the dog team were led to a general location by means of the missing person’s mobile phone.
"At the time, temperatures had dropped to -3 degrees centigrade and there was thick, freezing fog.
Jake and his award. (picture: PSNI)“Using their training and Jake’s skills, the dog was able to establish a track which eventually helped find the missing person.
“The officer displayed his expertise not only in dog handling but also in his management of the female casualty.
"The medical opinion is that if the team had not located her when they did, there could have been tragic consequences.”
The pair were presented with the award by Deputy Chief Constable Rod Hansen, Gloucestershire Constabulary, who is the National Policing Lead for Police Dogs.
