Police dogs given body armour by force ‘when needed’

The new ‘canine vests’ will shield the animals from knife attacks and bullets, Wiltshire Police said.
A number of PDSA Animal OBEs, which were received by police dogs (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
PA Archive
Joseph Draper19 June 2023

Police dogs in Wiltshire have been given body armour to protect them from violent criminals.

The new “canine vests” will shield the animals from knife attacks and bullets, Wiltshire Police said.

All general purpose and firearms support dogs in the force have been given them.

Pc Jon Harwood, dog handler, said: “I’d like to reassure people that in the time that I have been in the dog section there have been no reports of our dogs having been stabbed or shot.

“But our dogs are used to search for people armed with weapons all the time so this will hopefully offer them protection.

“The dogs won’t be wearing them all the time, it will be up to their handler to assess when they might be needed.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in