The Dog Support Unit (DSU) is a

Met Operations Met Operations, also known as Met Ops, is one of the eight business groups which forms the Metropolitan Police Service and is responsible for providing operational support services. It was created during the 2018–19 restructuring of the service ...

branch of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's Metropolitan Police, providing trained

police dog A police dog, also known as a K-9 (phonemic abbreviation of canine), is a dog that is trained to assist police and other law enforcement officers. Their duties may include searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, findin ...

s and

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

handlers.Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.19.002021: Information about MPS dogs and horses
Metropolitan Police Service.

Unit budget, composition, and duties

As of mid-2019, the Met reported a total of 226 dogs in operational police service, classified as 116 general purpose dogs, 53 firearms, cash, and drug search dogs, 41 explosives search dogs, 14 forensic evidence search dogs, and two digital media search dogs. The Met reported 186 officers and 20 police staff working full-time in the unit. Over the period 2009 to 2018, the dog unit budget ranged from approximately £13.2 million to approximately £15.6 million. "General purpose" dogs are German shepherds and Malinois (Belgian shepherds); search dogs included Springer Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, and

Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever or simply Labrador or Lab is a British list of dog breeds, breed of water dog retriever gun dog. It was developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the Newfoundland Colony, colony of Newfoun ...

s. Police dogs responded to the 2011 London riots, and at least one was wounded. Alongside other Metropolitan Police units, the Dog Support Unit participated in a

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

training exercise on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in 2017. In 2018, it was reported that the Met had spent more than £1 million on a pilot project to train police dogs in counter-terrorism.

Incidents

In 2014, figures released under the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...

showed that in the preceding three years, 827 people were bitten by Metropolitan Police dogs, and that "While the majority were suspects being pursued by the force, 53 were members of the public or police officers. It is not known how many of the suspects were found guilty of crimes or cleared."Diane Taylor
More than five people a week are bitten by police dogs, figures show
''The Guardian'' (October 29, 2014). The Met paid £243,363 to compensation to dog-bite victims over that three-year period, and £95,000 made in the preceding three-year period. In 2004, a police dog died at the Met's training school for police dogs in Keston, south east London, and a

police constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an police officer, officer within a police ser ...

was reprimanded.Alexandra Topping and agencies
Handler found injured after police dogs die in car
''The Guardian'' (June 28, 2011).Dog ban for ex Metropolitan Police handler after deaths
BBC News (October 12, 2011). In June 2011 the same dog-handler officer, who had been promoted to sergeant, locked two police dogs in his car for hours on one of the hottest days of the year, and the dogs died from

heat exhaustion Heat exhaustion is a heat-related illness characterized by the body's inability to effectively cool itself, typically occurring in high ambient temperatures or during intense physical exertion. In heat exhaustion, core body temperature ranges from ...

. The officer resigned from the police force and admitted in

Westminster Magistrates' Court Westminster Magistrates' Court is a Magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' court at 181 Marylebone Road, London. The Chief Magistrate of England and Wales, who is the Senior Judiciary of England and Wales#District judges, Distric ...

to causing unnecessary suffering; the court ordered him to pay £3,240 in court costs, and banned him from owning dogs for three years.

References

{{Metropolitan Police Dog Support Unit Police dogs People working with dogs