Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews was put through his paces during a multidisciplinary training session with the county’s best canine cops.
The PCC joined Pc Paul Goldsworthy and police dog Silas at the force’s new Team Leicestershire Academy where furry detectives are setting their paws on an ambitious training programme to become the best at what they do.
Leicestershire Police’s training for dogs and their handlers has recently been upgraded and now falls under the management of the Academy.
The changes have brought a new, rigorous multidisciplinary training programme for general purpose and specialist police dogs which sees the fearless pooches put to the test ahead of formal duty.
The enhanced training sessions are aimed at turning out the best drugs dogs, crowd controllers and search and rescue dogs in the country and will reassure the public of Leicestershire Police’s commitment to developing its workforce – even the four-legged ones!
The PCC, always keen to be involved, offered himself as the target for Silas during the session.
Mr Matthews said: “Despite my heavy-duty arm protection, it was a bit unnerving to hear the ‘woooooof’ as Silas shot towards me. And the threat of a rugby tackle was very real!
“The speed and agility of these creatures is nothing short of remarkable and I have nothing but admiration for the way they get on with the job, assisted by their highly-skilled handlers.
“The launch of Team Leicestershire Academy is a huge milestone for the force and will optimise the training, leadership and professional development opportunities available for the entire workforce, as well as our valued police dogs. It takes great people to make a great organisation and I am proud of the investment and time the force continues to take to nurture talent. Such efforts will help improve services for the benefit of all.”
Team Leicestershire Academy is a consolidation and optimisation of the training, leadership and professional development resources previously undertaken by the force.
A new Careers and Academy Strategy 2021-2025 has been drawn up to establish an outstanding careers, learning, leadership and development path and culture that nurtures potential and supports all staff to be the best they can be.
It aims to develop a motivated, diverse, inclusive, nurtured and engaged workforce with the right numbers of people in the right place with the right skills and capabilities.
A new Team Leicestershire Academy website has been launched as a one-stop shop for information and access to a wide range of multi-media resources and toolkits and on-demand learning to help people in their every day roles.
The Academy has also rolled out the first phase of a new leadership development programme initially targeted at first line management and plans to launch tailored programmes for all other management levels.
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Posted on Thursday 19th May 2022