Dog Handling Cop School

Today at Cop School, there's a bank robbery.

To put the criminals away,

cadets have to work with the best noses in the force

to track down the stolen money.

Nothing in the kitchen!

This will test our cadets' dog handling skills to the maximum.

I'm Rav Wilding. This is Cop School.

Six wannabe coppers

meet one of the world's oldest police forces.

Their mission? To complete a unique training course.

But are these cadets tough enough to cut it in the Met?

Last time at Cop School...

our six cadets arrived in London from across the UK

to train for the first time ever with the Metropolitan Police.

Come on, it's only pain! You know you love it!

They learnt how to arrest, apprehend,

and handcuff a criminal, before dealing with this crime.

Get off the bike!

Get off!

You do not have to say anything,

but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned

something which you may later rely on in court.

Today, for the first time ever,

the cadets will be working with the Met Police Dog Support Unit.

It's 9am sharp,

and the cadets are gathering here at Keston to find out

what lies ahead in today's training. But watch out, team.

There's somebody watching us, and he doesn't look very friendly.

-Morning, cadets, how are you? Sleep well?

-ALL: Yes.

Welcome to the dog school at Keston.

Another day, another challenge. You up for it?

Oi! He's got my bag!

'Time to send in the dogs.'

Police officer dog!

Stand still or I'll send the dog!

-Arrgh!

-Ooh!

Ahhh!

-Criminal, stand still!

-Aarrgh!

Quinnie, leave!

Quinnie, leave!

Yeah, I was really surprised. I didn't know what was happening.

I just saw a man running.

We were about to run after him, but then we saw this big German shepherd

run after him. I was so scared. He started biting his arm.

You wouldn't want to be that criminal, would you?

That's what you get for nicking my bag!

I would just lie down and cry if a dog started chasing me like that.

Just put your hands over your head and hope for the best.

Hi, cadets. You've just witnessed a Metropolitan Police dog in action.

BARKING

I'm Sergeant Jeff Moore.

And while you're under training at the dog school,

I'm your mentor.

There are around 2,500 police dogs in the UK,

and the Met have over 250.

Police dogs can track criminals where ordinary cops can't go.

They tackle dangerous situations, and venture into hazardous areas.

Sergeant Jeff Moore has been a dog handler for 19 years.

He knows everything about working with dogs.

But can he teach the Cop School cadets enough in just two days

for them to succeed in their final challenge?

This is Quinn. He's one of our barkers, as you can hear,

and biters.

These big barking dogs are trained to catch criminals

and bite on command. They're dangerous in untrained hands,

so they can only be handled by highly qualified officers.

I'm very nervous with the training today with the dogs.

Today's training might be very hard, cos I'm not used to these big dogs.

I think this is going to be my dream training,

because I love dogs.

I've got three dogs of my own,

and I love looking after them.

I've got a wee shih-tzu and she's my company

at home when I don't have my friends around me.

I know this sounds stupid, but, my dog, she listens to me.

If ever I'm in a bad mood or I'm upset,

a hug from my dog can make me feel better

in any situation.

That's really sweet, girls, but there's just one problem.

These are working dogs that have been trained to bite.

They must be treated with respect. They are not your pets.

All your fluffy talk stops now.

Unlucky, girls.

The cadets will be using police dogs in tomorrow's challenge.

But before they go anywhere near them, there are some dos and don'ts.

When you go into the kennel, you have to be confident.

Look at the dog, keep eye contact,

but don't stare at him.

I want you to talk to the dogs, but in a nice, quiet tone.

No sudden movements, OK?

The time's come. I want you to go off this way

and go and meet your new four-legged friends.

What the cadets don't know yet

is that they will not be working with these barkers and biters.

They will actually be getting much smaller and friendlier search dogs.

But before they meet their pooches, the cadets are being taught a lesson

in taking police dogs very seriously.

When I saw all the dogs in the cages I was really scared.

They were running round in circles, barking and baring their teeth.

-They had these fangs coming down here...

-Really big mouths...

-It was doing spins and barking.

-They have the sharpest teeth.

Really scary, barking at you as mad as it could.

If one of the crazy spinny-roundy ones is my dog,

I'm not doing it.

I'd be terrified.

If Carrie's one of those crazy dogs, I will go mad.

I will go bonkers.

Oh, my gosh.

Their first meeting is a critical moment

as these dogs will instantly decide

if they like their new handlers or not,

so the pressure's on.

'First up to meet his dog - Junior.'

You know what you've got to do though, yeah?

You'll be fine, just in here.

'He's the cadet who is most scared of these animals

'and he has no idea what growling, snarling beast is waiting for him.'

Junior, meet Kyra.

Not the big barker and biter you were expecting,

she's one of the force's smallest search dogs

and nothing to be scared of.

'But will these two bond instantly?'

# And they called it puppy love... #

It's love at first sight.

Well, for Kyra anyway.

'I was really nervous and scared,'

but then as soon as I saw the dog jumping up and down

and really happy and joyful, I really liked it.

I think me and my dog are going to be the best of friends.

Animal-loving Rebecca is next to meet her dog, Boycie.

She's in...

and he's out!

Let's see that again...

Well caught, Jeff!

Boycie! Boycie, that's a good girl.

Boycie is a highly-trained member of the police force

who tackles crime and danger daily.

So he's not going to be happy if you keep calling him a girl, Rebecca.

Good girl, Boycie.

Good girl.

It looks like your dog skills from home are working.

You've gained control of her - I mean, him. And you're a natural.

The first two have gone well,

but how will the others fare?

I was like, "Oh, no, please don't tell me it's going to be massive."

I walked in and he was jumping up on me, sniffing and licking me.

Aaaw! That's gorgeous.

I was scared even a little dog was going to be barking and barking.

It was such a relief, I can't even tell you.

Aaaw!

She wanted to play so I gave her a smooth

'and she started doing loops round me.'

Hello.

I felt scared because I didn't want it to be a massive German shepherd.

But I was happy it was a little one, it was dead nice to me.

She won't bite, will she?

'I hope not!'

They've got their dogs, but now they need to exercise them to bond -

-whatever the weather.

-THUNDER RUMBLES

It's raining cadets and dogs.

No, no, no!

Their four-legged friends might not be as fierce

as the barkers and biters

but this lively lot are no easier to handle.

Keep going.

Go on.

And Sergeant Jeff Moore is making sure Nathan gets away with nothing.

Come on, you want to be a dog handler. You've got to keep running.

The dog didn't obey me.

Aha, no!

I found that very tiring.

Izzy, sit, sit. Sit! Oh!

Nathan couldn't control Izzy.

Yeah. Aaah! Yeah!

It was really funny.

They may look like ordinary dogs out for walkies,

but don't be fooled. These brave search animals

are part of a crack team

which help catch around 5,000 drug dealers in Britain every year...

Sit!

..as well as uncovering smuggled and stolen goods and tracking criminals.

He won't sit.

So the cadets have met their dogs, but now the real work starts.

BARKING

We're here in this training room to find out the real nitty-gritty

of what these search dogs can do.

Jeff is going to give us a live demonstration now

on just how these highly-trained animals go about doing their work.

Hidden inside one of these suitcases is some stolen cash.

Riz is trained to pick up the scent of money,

and as a dog's nose can be ten times more powerful than a human's,

a suitcase shouldn't stand in his way

-of finding what he's searching for.

-He's checking all the zips

to make sure that he's searched every part of the case.

The real skill for a handler is learning how to accurately read

what their dog is telling them.

He's showing a little bit more interest in this one,

so he's telling me there could be something there.

So he's found it, he's remained still,

he's telling me there's something there,

and then he'll get rewarded with his toy. OK? Good lad!

See if Riz is right.

There you go.

Your last week's pocket money, Nathan.

ALL LAUGH

Now it's the cadets' turn. To keep them on their toes,

I've moved the money. But can they control their dogs

to search every case and find that stolen cash?

Let's find out.

Come on, Riz.

Come on.

Riz, Riz, wait.

Go to this one, that's it.

Who is leading who, cadets? You've got to stay in control.

Carrie was pulling me everywhere.

She was in one direction and then the other. It was bedlam.

I think I should have talked to the dog more - he was running around

and I wasn't telling him which one to search.

Nathan may be finding it hard, but Megan's a pro.

I think I did really well

cos I was able to get him to where I wanted to go.

Boycie, this one.

I think I did really well in that one.

But the big test is whether the cadets can read

when their dog finds something.

Yeah, he's staying still. I think it's in this one.

What's the next step?

What's he telling you, Jade?

Er, that it's in that one.

What would you do now, Jade?

Take a look?

Yeah, I think I'm going to open it.

Or?

Search the rest of them.

-WHINING

-'Hold on, cadets.

'You've forgotten the most important thing. No-one works for free,

-'And these dogs are paid with praise.'

-Oh, yeah!

'And rubber balls.'

# My doggie is nothing if he don't have a bone

# All doggy, hold your bone

# All doggy, hold it... #

Oof!

'But were they right about the money?'

Yeah, well done.

Yeah.

-Wahey!

-Yay!

Yeah!

Don't thank me, thank the dog. ALL LAUGH

'Six out of six ain't bad. Well done, dogs.'

BARKING

I think they've done very well. As I say, as a group,

we would normally expect one or two maybe not to perform as well,

but they have all, as a group, done really good.

Probably done better than some of our actual students that we have

on the courses here, so that was really pleasing.

'I think the cadets have done really good today,'

especially with their first insight

into the work of the police search dogs,

but they're really going to have to step it up

in order to pass tomorrow's end-of-show challenge.

In just 24 hours, the cadets and their dogs

are going to have to uncover the loot

stashed away by this Cop School thief.

Whoever does the best at the challenge

will be made Top Cop and rewarded with an amazing treat.

It's the morning of the challenge but before it gets underway,

the cadets have a crucially important lesson to learn

about the safety of their sniffer dogs.

Jeff has summoned them to this dog training flat.

It may look normal at first glance but on closer inspection,

it's full of hazards, which, if left undetected,

could be deadly to the dogs, so observation is key.

Before the Dog Support Unit are sent in to search any property,

they have to know it's safe for their animals.

But can the cadets spot the dangers in this flat?

Megan, you've had a look.

Is there anything you can see that's a danger?

There's broken glass just there and the dog could cut its mouth

-if it ate it or something.

-Yeah, and its paws.

-Rebecca, have you seen anything?

-There's acid on the sofa.

-Yeah.

That is really dangerous, not only to the dogs but also to yourselves.

-OK? Nathan.

-Yeah, there's sort of like an open tin can

-so when the dog goes to smell, it'll cut its nose.

-Yeah, that's very good.

-Jade?

-Erm...the window's open so the dog could jump out and hurt itself.

So we'd need to close that before we started the search

and that would help contain the scent within the room.

-Um... Could the sandwich be one?

-Yeah.

Yeah, it's not been left for you to eat!

'Food may look harmless,

'but it could be poisonous and a hazard for the dog if eaten.

'Recognising the risk to their dogs could be a life-or-death decision

'and the cadets will need to remember this

'for today's challenge.

'I now need to choose a cadet who will take charge

'in their main challenge.'

OK, cadets. It's time to select today's leader.

'The person I've chosen is a quieter member of the group

'but is a huge animal lover. I'm hoping their understanding of dogs

will let them shine and stand out during this challenge.'

Today's leader is going to be...

Rebecca.

Well done. Well done, Rebecca.

13-year-old Rebecca lives on the outskirts of Belfast

and likes to be heard.

I can't wait!

She's great with animals,

but how will she cope leading a team of Cop School cadets?

Bring it on!

OK, Rebecca. This is your leader cam.

And you are now team leader for today's challenge.

I'm feeling really excited about being leader,

because I can't wait to get into the challenge.

The cadets don't know it yet,

but while Rebecca is getting used to her role as leader,

there is a crime taking place on the other side of town.

A gang of Cop School criminals have just robbed a bank.

Most of them have been arrested at the scene,

but this thief has fled to a safe house on a nearby estate.

He's frantically stashing the cash

in places he hopes the cops won't find it.

But the police have tracked him down,

and are on their way to nick him. They've called for back-up

from the Dog Support Unit to sniff out the stolen money.

Cadets, listen up. There's been an urgent message.

There's been an armed robbery in town.

The suspects have been chased off and are in a flat on an estate.

Police are there at the moment, arresting the criminals. They need

the help of the Dog Support Unit, urgently, to search for the cash.

Rebecca, you're team leader. Away we go.

SIREN WAILS

Back at the safe house, the police are closing in on the criminal.

But not before he's finished hiding the loot.

Meanwhile, the cadets are on their way to the scene at high speed,

with their sniffer sidekicks, Boycie and Riz, in the van.

They need to find the money as evidence of the crime committed.

As they arrive, the cops have already arrested the thief,

but until the cadets find the money, they can't charge him.

'They don't have much time.' OK, that's the criminal taken out.

Rebecca, you're in charge, tell me about your team.

Megan and Jade are going to be with the dogs.

With me and Sam, also.

Nathan and Junior are making sure the place is secure

for the dogs to go in.

-So you guys are going to do the search first?

-Yeah.

-You've decided that as a team?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

You're happy with everything that Jeff taught you,

-the importance of that search?

-Yeah.

You've seen the criminal taken out.

Now it's down to you to make sure it's safe

for the dog and the other four officers to go in. OK?

-Rebecca, are you happy with that?

-Yeah.

-Let's get going, then.

The cadets need to get a move on.

This is a big property to search, and it's filled with hazards.

It's important to make sure that you can hear each other.

You stay in communication with Junior and Nathan

when they're searching. And make sure the whole place is safe

-before you even think about going in.

-Sam to Junior.

Have you found anything inside the property yet?

'Would you enter in the property now?'

Erm, yes, there's loads of glass, and...

'Yeah, we're just looking but first I've seen the glass'

-and I'm just going to get rid of that.

-'OK, thank you.'

Be careful with the glass.

Yeah, found some biscuits. Just removing all the food.

He'd better not be eating it!

That's good.

Two pens, there's a fire extinguisher.

Fire extinguisher and pens? That's a bit over the top.

You're not a removal man, Nathan.

'Knives and forks in the kitchen.'

-'Pardon?'

-Knives and forks in the kitchen, should I move them out?

Yeah, move them.

'Eh?

'Knives and forks being taken out now?

'It'll be the kitchen sink next!

'You're being a bit over-cautious, cadets.

'You need to get a move on, you've still got upstairs to search.'

Junior, you might want to get the brush up here as well.

'Come on, guys, it's only a bit of mud.'

Tell them that we've found some hazardous stuff.

We've found some...acid.

-Remove it.

-Definitely.

-'Remove the acid.'

-Yeah, we've removed the acid.

-Do you think there's anything else in here?

-There's some wood, there.

Nathan and Junior are on overdrive, getting shot of anything in sight.

But Jade's noticed something major they've missed.

Can you close the window?

Good call, Jade. You have to keep the scent in.

-All clear downstairs.

-All clear, OK.

-Sounds like they're almost done.

-Yeah.

-I think it's all clear.

-Yeah.

All clear, yeah. You can come in now.

-OK, thank you.

-'Bring your dogs.'

-Bring the dogs.

-With the hazards -

and everything else - removed, the cadets can bring in the dogs.

-Come on.

-Sniffer dogs can only work for short periods of time

before they're in danger of nose fatigue and need to rest.

So Jeff Moore is giving the cadets a 20-minute time limit

to search for the money. The clock is ticking.

There are six bundles of money hidden in this property.

Here's where they are.

In the living room - under the sofa and in the back of the computer.

Inside the kitchen cupboard...

in this bag on the upstairs landing,

stashed in the bookcase,

and under the mattress on the bed.

But can our cadets and their dogs find them all?

-Over here, Boycie.

-Check these.

We need to check these.

-Anything in here, Boycie?

-We're checking suitcases.

No, no?

Boycie!

Did you find the money?

No, he's just sniffing the kitchen.

Has Boycie noticed something in that bag?

You have to give him time to sniff properly, Rebecca.

Nothing found in the kitchen.

Sure about that, Jade?

You've missed one of the cash bundles, too.

Nothing found in the kitchen.

What's in here, Boycie?

Rebecca's in the bedroom, and Boycie's certainly showing interest.

Boycie? No? Come on.

Not so fast, Rebecca. Boycie's onto something.

And he's trying to tell you.

There must be something here.

-Yep, got one.

-We've just found a load of money now.

-Yes!

-Well done, well done, well done!

One down, five to go.

Junior to Sam.

'Yeah, Junior?'

Did you appreciate the dogs?

Did you play about with it when you found the money?

-'We did.'

-Brilliant radio work, Junior.

And good sniffing, Boycie.

-Jeff.

-Well done.

The cadets have been searching for seven minutes.

But they've only got one lot of money in the bank.

They've got five more bundles to find, and only 13 minutes left.

They need to kick it up a notch, and read their dogs better.

-How's it going?

-Nothing so far.

Do you want to go and search the bin?

Will I search the sofa?

Just let him search one thing at a time.

-Come on, Boycie, in here.

-Up in the bedroom,

Boycie's one determined dog.

He knows where he's heading - straight back to that bag.

Anything in there? Anything in there, Boycie?

-Yeah, we've found something.

-At last!

Yeah, that's a positive reaction.

We've found some money, Riz found money.

Well done. Make sure that you appreciate the dog.

-Good boy.

-Three bundles down, three to go.

But only five minutes left.

Why don't we put this on the floor, see if there's anything in here?

Yeah, do that.

Come on, Boycie. Something in there?

Good thorough search upstairs, guys.

That's a positive.

Downstairs are making progress, too.

Riz found more money.

At two bundles each, the cadets feel like their searches

-are coming to an end.

-Junior, we've done a thorough search,

we can only find two stacks, what should we do?

Junior's instincts tell him there might be more.

They've found two stacks of money, both of the dogs.

We're saying, just cos they've found two stacks, not to just go out.

-Make sure that they search all the rooms.

-Just because they found two

-doesn't mean that's all of them.

-Yeah.

-Good thinking.

OK.

-Shall we search the kitchen?

-Yeah. Riz...

Back in the kitchen, last chance to find the cash.

That's a positive reaction.

-Good boy!

-Junior's persistence has paid off.

'He's found more money.'

Yay! High-five.

We're packing it up, we can't find anything more.

OK, that's good, yeah.

Jade to Nathan and Sam, time is up so we're coming out of the flat.

The cadets have found five out of the six bundles.

Jade and Megan missed the cash stashed in the bookcase.

But not a bad effort all round.

And team leader Rebecca is thrilled.

I loved being team leader. I felt in control and I felt really good.

Rebecca was an amazing team leader. The jobs she allocated

were quite good. She gave the right roles to everyone.

Hurray!

I was loving it.

It was so fun. I felt like a proper police officer.

I'm really impressed by the police dogs, how they work,

how they think and their sense of smell.

Up!

-Good boy.

-The challenge has gone well.

But now Sergeant Jeff Moore and I have the tough decision

about who today's Top Cop or Top Cops should be.

-OK, Jeff, what do you think?

-They've all done very well.

But I think we need to break the search down on who did what.

Let's take Junior. When the others said, "I think we're done",

he's the one that said, "No, one more search."

And that led to more money being found.

-To do that was exceptional.

-A good call.

Nathan - the initial search was thorough.

Yeah, they would have had the floorboards up if we allowed them!

Rebecca was team leader. Did you think she commanded her leadership?

Yeah, I think she did well.

There were times when she got involved in

what she was doing herself, rather than what the whole team were doing.

-Let's look at Megan.

-Yeah, she was reading the dog very well.

There was one that was particularly difficult,

and she was aware that the dog was showing far more interest.

So this is going to be a tough decision.

They have all done very well. So it is going to be very tough.

OK, team, it's time to announce

Top Cop or Top Cops.

This cadet began very nervously around dogs,

but built it up and absolutely shone,

Jeff and I both believe, on today's challenge.

The treat will be to play with a litter of six-week-old puppies...

ALL: Ah!

..while the rest of you clean out the dog van.

So today's Top Cop is...

..Junior. Well done, Junior. Step forward.

Well done, mate. Congratulations. You did really well.

I was really shocked. I wasn't expecting it.

But, yeah, after that I was so excited,

I was just looking forward to going and playing with the puppies.

Next time at Cop School...

The cadets get behind the wheel...

I don't like driving!

..and they go on patrol with the traffic cops.

But how will they cope when they're called on

to deal with a major road-side collision?

Did you not see her?!

Ow!

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