Police Constable Janssen Olivero and Police Dog Ness of the RGP Dog Section were quality assured last week by Mr. Harry Morton, Head of Profession for Humberside and South Yorkshire Police Dog Training who has awarded them with a “Certificate of Excellence”.

This certification follows an intensive 8-week training period conducted in July & August of this year, when PC Olivero and PD Ness successfully completed the National Police Chiefs Council General Patrol Dog Handlers Course, at the South Yorkshire Police Dog Training School in the United Kingdom.

The UK element of the course involved training the handler/dog team in all areas of safety control and efficiency, following which they were required to successfully complete a national licensing assessment for their operational role. The team was tested in obedience and control, tracking, and searching for missing persons and items of property, as well as in the detention of determined offenders. Overall, the course and assessment ensures that Police Dog Teams are ready for deployment as an additional Police asset in serving and protecting communities.

Following their return to Gibraltar, PC Olivero and PD Ness undertook additional training over several weeks that culminated recently with the award of their operational licence and their quality assurance last week.