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Frontline

First-time and experienced handlers – with decades of experience in one case – were acknowledged at the latest graduation from the Dog Training Centre at Trentham.

Three first-time handlers and one experienced handler graduated earlier this month to take up their frontline roles, celebrating in front of whānau and friends, Police Executive members and Minister of Police Hon Mark Mitchell.

Commissioner Chambers congratulated the graduating handlers on their achievements.

“It’s a proud day for all four teams, both experienced and new,” he said. “This ceremony marks the end of your formal training to become an operational team and signals the next step toward frontline duties.

“Patrol dog work is one of the most physically demanding roles in Police and we are grateful for all your work.

“Our new graduates are a significant boost to our front-line capacity, and we are proud to have them join us.”

The graduating teams were:

• Constable Scott Crowe, with H-Jordy, from Hamilton;
• Senior Constable Hugo du Plessis, with Thored, from Tāmaki Makaurau;
• Senior Constable Walter Treviranus with dog Ultrah, from Rotorua;and
• Constable Max Wealleans, with Phelix, based in Tauranga.

First-time handler Scott was looking forward to going on shift with H-Jordy a few days after graduating - and they quickly notched up a good catch once they hit the streets.

“I’ve really enjoyed training with him,” he said. “I’d like to thank the team at Waikato Dog Section for all their help getting us to this point.”

As for the name… H-Jordy started his training at eight months old but came from outside Police.

“He already had the name Jordy, but because he was officially assigned to an ‘H’ litter at the DTC, they have kept his name but stuck the ‘H’ in front,” says Scott. “He knows his name but officially he’s known as ‘H-Jordy’.”

Policing runs deep in Scott’s family – his mum is a former police officer, his dad is a retired senior sergeant and both his brother and sister are serving constables.

Hugo, an experienced officer of 20 years’ service, graduated with his second dog, Thored.

He previously worked with police dog Freeze, who is now paired with another handler to undergo AOS training.

Walter graduated with his first operational dog, Ultrah, realising his long-held dream of being a dog handler.

Max, who has six years’ experience on the front line, got his dream job on Dog Section last year, taking on Phelix a few months ago.

“He’s a big dog – he stands as tall as me when he’s on his hind legs, but he’s a lovely dog, and can be chill when he needs to be.”

He says he’s grateful for the help and training from his colleagues on coastal Bay of Plenty Dog Section.

“It will be good to get back out on the street and support the frontline with my new partner,” he said.

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