Times Of Swaziland: Swazi police get dog lessons from Zimbabwe

Swazi police get dog lessons from Zimbabwe
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 ZWELIHLE SUKATI on 17/05/2010 00:00:00


MBABANE – Police Commissioner Isaac Magagula is back from attending a combined
passout parade of the Royal Swaziland Police and the Zimbabwean Republic Police
Dog handlers.
The ceremony was held on May 14, 2010, at the Zimbabwean Republic Police Canine
Training School.
The police commissioner had been invited by his Zimbabwean counterpart
Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri to attend the combined passout. He was
accompanied by two Senior Superintendents.
“Eight RSP Dog Unit officers were passing out alongside their Zimbabwean
colleagues after taking part in a three month training programme which commenced
in February,” reads a police press release.  Five of the officers were
undergoing training in the handling of drug sniffer dogs and Tracker dogs.
Tracker dogs are used in tracking and following the scent of fleeing criminals.
Three were trained to be dog unit instructors.
Also the programme encompassed the training and or grooming of the dogs
themselves to be specialised police dogs.
“The Commissioner of the Zimbabwean Republic Police stated that the exchange
of information through such training programmes between the RSP and the
Zimbabwean Republic Police bears testimony of the cordial relations that exist
between the two countries,” it is stated.
Chihuri said the Dog Section should make a meaningful contribution in the
policing of the two countries, particularly in reducing drugs and firearms.
The dogs whose procurement and attendant training was sponsored by the INTERPOL
General Secretariat were sourced from Zimbabwean police who also undertook to
run the training course. The RSP Commissioner also visited INTERPOL Sub-regional
Bureaus which serve as Sub-core Secretariat that coordinate activities in the
fight against cross border crime.
Magagula thanked INTERPOL for sponsoring the procurement of the dogs and
training handlers.  He further pointed out that the dogs would complement the
local human capacity in executing operational strategies.
‘Cooperation will bolster investor confidence’
MBABANE – Zimbabwean Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri says the
shared cooperation within the regional bloc will bolster investor confidence.
He was speaking during the passout parade of the RSP and Zimbabwe Republic
Police dog handlers.
“In my view, it is noteworthy to mention that criminals have a tendency of
fleeing to other countries after having committed heinous crimes in their
countries.
I therefore strongly warn those involved in such illicit activities that the
shared cooperation of this regional bloc would ensure that they are brought to
justice,” said Chihuri.
He said he was confident that the participants have been moulded into vigilant
and professional dog handlers determined to keep criminals at bay.
“It is without doubt that the 2010 FIFA World Cup which is now upon the
Southern African region requires that we have effective and sophisticated crime
management instruments, like dogs which possess acumen in crime detection,” he
said.