Members of Essex Police have received accolades through The National Service Dog Bravery and Achievement Awards.
The awards were presented by Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Jennifer Tolhurst.
PC Jim Beaird was recognised for Outstanding Achievement. He developed an innovative training technique for explosive detection dogs to respond to laser targeting. This means they can search areas quicker than just by their nose alone.
PC Gary Lambert was also recognised for Outstanding Achievement. He trained Essex’s first forensic recovery dog. These specialist dogs are especially helpful to investigators looking to find people who have died.
Sgt Paul Screech, who has been a dog handler for 16 years, was recognised for Outstanding Achievement and Dedication to Duty.
He was commended for his work to expand the number of specialist dogs in the unit and for ensuring the highest standards of welfare to keep them fit and healthy.
He was also honoured for helping other trainers to widen their knowledge and skills.
Sgt Jamie Edwards and police dog Diesel were commended for Bravery.
They were carrying out searches for suspects in two knife point robberies in Benfleet in December 2018.
When Sgt Edwards saw a third robbery in progress, he and Diesel jumped out of their vehicle and confronted them. One of the suspects ran off and was detained by police dog Diesel.
PC Andy Gaw was commended for Outstanding Achievement.
He trained the search and general purpose dogs to sniff out drugs, increasing the unit’s capability to help with drugs investigations.
He also sourced another canine to be Essex Police’s first Digital Detection Dog.
Linda Belgrove and Frank Belgrove from the Essex Retired Police Dog Fund received an Outstanding Achievement award for their work to promote the welfare of retired police dogs.
Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills said: “We are immensely proud of our Dog Section and it was a real honour to see their hard work recognised at the National Service Dog Bravery and Achievement Awards.
“They achieve outstanding results every day to help catch criminals, which is testament to the innovation and commitment of our dog handlers and trainers and our police dogs.”
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