"The suspect said he was giving up as long as the dog didn’t bite him."
That's how PC Jamie Jackson described the reaction of the wanted man on the end of PD Phantom's tracking powers last Saturday (November 14).
The suspect had ran away from officers, but was sniffed-out to a garden shed in West Sussex.
Newly-trained PD Phantom is among several German Shepherd puppies bred by the Surrey and Sussex Police Dog School in 2018.
And, now, they're certainly starting to find their feet — or paws — on the trail of suspects in real-life criminal cases.
On the afternoon of 14 November, officers tasked PD Phantom to search for a suspect who had run from police and started garden hopping in the Angmering area.
He was wanted for a breach of conditions having been released from prison.
Several police helped secure the area while PC Jackson searched gardens with his canine counterpart.
Before long, PD Phantom indicated that something — or someone — of interest was in a shed in Lawrence Avenue.
PC Jackson said:
“The shed was stacked with chair cushions, garden furniture and tools.
"I asked Phantom again to ‘find him’, and he started to scramble to the back of the shed.
"I made my way to the back corner of the shed with Phantom, where he barked at a table top covering the bottom corner.
"I lifted this table top and saw the suspect hiding underneath it.
"I withdrew and called the suspect out of the shed, who said he was giving up as long as the dog didn’t bite him.”
The suspect was subsequently arrested by assisting officers and has been released under investigation, pending further enquiries.
PD Phantom, who is around 20-months-old, is qualified as a general purpose police dog, trained in various disciplines including searching open ground or buildings for suspects, tracking suspects or missing people, and searching for discarded property.
His ‘P’ litter siblings who are also newly qualified include Perry, Piper, Percy, Panza and Paws.
PC Jackson, of the Surrey and Sussex Police Dog Unit, added:
“Currently, Phantom is a young, big bundle of excitable energy and at times mischievous but with a great personality.
"He loves going to work and is always extremely keen every time the tracking harness comes out.
“We have recently come off our initial course and I have been absolutely delighted by this result after all those weeks of training.
"Hopefully this shows that he is starting to transfer his skills into the real world.”
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