Cape Town – Metro Police Service animals recently marked a decade on the trot by celebrating a long list of crime-fighting achievements.
The Equestrian and K9 units have accounted for nearly 2 000 arrests, just shy of 25 000 fines and the recovery of more than 30 000 units of drugs since inception ten years ago.
“This is a momentous milestone for the Metro Police Department and serves as a reminder of the many initiatives we have undertaken to augment our crime prevention efforts to bolster our response to the many, and varied demands in this city,” Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said.
“We’ve seen over the years that those in the drug trade become ever more creative in trying to avoid detection and confiscation of their goods, hiding drugs in all manner of weird and wonderful places, but our canines are up to the task and I believe that this is one of many areas where the service animals have made a huge impact,” Smith added.
Service Animals Unit Commander, Senior Superintendent Joan Felix said the unit was established in the run-up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup, with just 11 canines.
Fast forward ten years, and the unit boasts 25 canines who are skilled in the art of detecting narcotics, explosives, copper and metal, as well as searching for missing persons.
The unit currently has seven horses which took over from the previous group that retired in 2018.
“The Equestrian unit conducts crime prevention patrols at large events, as the horses give officers a unique vantage point from which to look out for any criminal activity. They are also very useful in terrain not suited to vehicles,” Felix said.
Some of the Service Animals Unit successes in the past decade include:
1 899 arrests for possession of drugs, firearm-related crimes and driving under the influence, 76 firearms and
1 146 rounds of ammunition recovered, 36 610 units of drugs confiscated and R522 947 in cash confiscated.
“We look forward to another decade of sterling work from our service animals,” Smith added.