UK UK- Police dog, Golden Labrador, April, 'sexual crime scene search dog', Finds Evidence of Sexual Assault After Unique Training Program, 2022

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Dog helps police prove girl may have been sexually assaulted

April is one of just three operational 'sexual crime scene' dogs in the country

www.walesonline.co.uk

Oct 2022 rbbm.
''A police dog was used to investigate an allegation that a girl had been sexually assaulted. Cheshire Police force's 15-month-old Golden Labrador April is a 'sexual crime scene search dog', one of only three in the country.

PD April, handled by PC Steve Gunn, has been trained to sniff out tiny traces of sexual fluids, sometimes years after they have been deposited, which can help prove rape or sexual assault.

PD April will work across the Cheshire and North Wales Police Alliance Dog Unit following a "rigorous" six week training programme, which the force says "has changed the way sexual offences are investigated", reports The Echo.

Within 36 hours of returning from their training, PC Gunn and PD April were put to the test operationally after being requested to assist CSI with the examination of a scene in Cheshire. It followed an allegation of a sexual assault on a young girl.


Chief Inspector Simon Newell, Head of Alliance Policing responsible for Armed Policing and Police Dogs for Cheshire and North Wales, said: “This is an early example of how this pairing of PD April and PC Steve Gunn will be a huge asset to the Alliance, helping both Cheshire and North Wales to prosecute sexual predators and safeguard victims.

"It shows how the skills of the dogs and their handlers play a vitally important role during sexual offence investigations, in scenes where traditional methods wouldn’t work. The introduction of this specialist search dog capability within the Alliance provides exciting opportunities to demonstrate how we can contribute towards tackling Force priorities."

 

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Police dog Rosie. Credit: Derbyshire Constabulary

Dog Finds Evidence of Sexual Assault After Unique Training Program

April’s 6-week training program wasn’t focused on searching for human remains or explosives; rather, April is now one of three dogs in the UK trained to detect very small amounts of seminal fluid.

www.forensicmag.com

October 19, 2022
Michelle Taylor
''An extremely unique forensic search dog project pioneered by Derbyshire Constabulary (UK) just recorded its first success—only 36 hours after Police Dog April completed her training program.
https://www.forensicmag.com/3374-AuthorProfile/8542-Michelle-Taylor/
April’s 6-week training program wasn’t focused on searching for human remains or explosives; rather, April is now one of three dogs in the UK trained to detect very small amounts of seminal fluid.
https://www.forensicmag.com/3374-AuthorProfile/8542-Michelle-Taylor/
April, who was joined in the training program by Rosie, can now pinpoint tiny amounts of seminal fluid without being distracted by other scents. The noses of the seminal fluid search dogs are so sharp they can detect as little as 0.016 mL of fluid, sometimes years after it has been deposited.''

''The training, developed by Derbyshire’s Dog Section and Crime Scene Investigators, has changed the way in which sexual offences are investigated in England since its launch in 2016. Police dog Sybil and her colleague, now-retired Billie, have helped put serious offenders behind bars up and down the country.

Now 15-month-old April, from the Cheshire/North Wales Alliance, and 15-month-old Rosie, based at Derbyshire, have been welcomed to the team—and are already making their impact known.

All three dogs can indicate the presence of seminal fluid in places traditional kits can’t detect it. Once the dogs have identified the scent, the evidence—be it clothing, bedding, vegetation, or anything else—is collected and sent to the lab for DNA analysis. The DNA profiles extracted from these items, which likely would be overlooked in a normal investigation, haven proven to lead to more prosecutions.''