Wednesday, 13 September 2017 - 3:39pm |
National News

Police dogs shine at national championships

3 min read

News article photos, audio and videos (1 items)

Constable Craig Moore with Oza, right, and Deputy Commissioner Viv Rickard

After three days of tough competition at the National Police Patrol and Detector Dog Championships the country’s top dogs and handlers have been crowned.

Police dogs and their handlers won two titles and came second in the Narcotic Detector Dog section.

Four-year-old Police dog Oza and handler Constable Craig Moore from Christchurch are this year’s national Police Patrol dog champions and the winners of the Frank Riley Cup.

The pair also won the William Rose Bowl for criminal work disciplines.

Constable Craig Moore says it was a close competition and the victory hasn’t sunk in yet.

“To win has been a goal of mine ever since I joined the Dog Section, and I’m ecstatic.”

“Oza enjoys his job, he’s high spirited and looks after me.”

Second place went to Senior Constable Owen Davies and Quid from Auckland, and Senior Constable Andrew Knox and Ra from Hawke’s Bay came third.

National Coordinator Police Dogs Inspector Todd Southall says the standard across all the championship categories was very high.

“It’s great to see the high calibre of all the championship finalists.  They’ve worked extremely hard to get here and to win a title is pretty special.  It reflects the work they do day and night keeping our communities and borders safe.”

The top three police patrol dogs all scored over 1000 points which is an outstanding achievement, with only seven points separating the top two dogs and handlers.

Police dog Kea and handler Senior Constable Ross Clarke from Auckland won the Explosive Detector Dog competition and the AVSEC Shield, Senior Constable Hamish Todd and Ezak from Wellington were the runners up.

The Narcotic Detector Dog title was taken out by Auckland based Corrections Officer KT Thomas and Jesse with Wellington’s Senior Constable Matt Fage and Tasman second.

The competition involved a range of activities to test the unique skills of dogs and their handlers and was held in Wellington and Wairarapa.

23 teams from New Zealand Police, Customs, Corrections, Aviation Security and New Zealand Army competed in the three different categories.

Deputy Commissioner Viv Rickard presented the prizes at the Police Dog Training Centre in Trentham this afternoon.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

RESULTS

Patrol dogs

1st Constable Craig Moore and Oza (Christchurch)

2nd Senior Constable Owen Davies and Quid (Wellington)

3rd Senior Constable Andrew Knox and Ra (Hawke’s Bay)

4th Senior Constable Paul Fleck and Falon (Wellington)

5th Constable Robert Campbell and Quita (Wellington)

6th Senior Constable Nathan Kluit and Raja (Auckland)

7th Senior Constable Hamish McPhillips and Capo (Auckland)

8th Senior Constable Blair Spalding and Rush (Hamilton)

9th Senior Constable Reuben Whalley and Gill (Christchurch)

10th Senior Constable David Robison and Falcon (Whakatane)

11th Constable Bradley Smith and Kona (New Plymouth)

Narcotics Detector Dog

1st Corrections Officer KT Thomas and Jesse (Auckland)

2nd Senior Constable Matt Fage and Tasman (Wellington)

3rd Senior Customs Officer Andrew Bond and Rajax (Auckland)

4th Senior Constable Gary Donnelly and Mylo (Christchurch)

5th Senior Customs Officer Monica Hoeg and Ember (Wellington)

6th Corrections Officer Ricky Trevithick and Preston (Wellington)

Explosives Detector Dog

1st Senior Constable Ross Clarke and Kea (Auckland)

2nd Senior Constable Hamish Tood and Ezak (Wellington)

3rd CCPL Aidan Cornwall and Yardley (NZ Army)

4th Aviation Security Officer David Chait and Bella (Auckland)

5th LCPL Leslie Tawhara and Xia (NZ Army)

 

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Constable Craig Moore with Oza, right, and Deputy Commissioner Viv Rickard
Constable Craig Moore with Oza, right, and Deputy Commissioner Viv Rickard JPG - 48KB