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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-08-09 Daily Xml
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Police Dog Operations Unit

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:50): My question is to the Minister for Police. Can the minister advise of any recent investment by the state government to protect SAPOL's working animals?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for his excellent question, because there is work that is being undertaken by the government in order to protect working animals.

Recently, I had the pleasure of being able to visit the SAPOL Dog Operations Unit to announce that all SAPOL general duty police dogs will now wear protection vests. The vests now worn by general duty police dogs reduce the risk of harm being inflicted upon these animals that play a vital role in the fight against crime. Our police dogs are much loved and integral members of the front-line policing family, providing support to sworn officers in high-risk situations, as well as being able to detect drugs, explosives and other prohibited items that a sworn officer would not otherwise be able to detect.

I am sure all members of this council remember the 2013 case of Koda, the police dog that was stabbed in the line of duty. Following that terrible act, the parliament supported new laws to protect our working animals and increase the penalties for offences against them. To provide additional security to SAPOL's Dog Operations Unit members, namely SAPOL's 12 general duty dogs, they will now be fitted with the Mako harness. The vests cost approximately $1,300 each and, while they provide a superior level of protection for the dog, they also provide dog handlers with enhanced control and lifting assistance for operational deployment in the field.

The vests have stab and slash mitigating components within them and also provide for a low level of ballistic protection to protect the vital organs and vulnerable areas of our general duty dogs. The vest weighs a little less than a kilo and has been tested to ensure that it does not impede the agility, speed or mobility of the dog.

The state government believes that protecting all of our officers who seek to keep us safe, whether they are human, canine or equine, is vital and their safety on the front line is critically important. This government will continue to support our police force with the best technologies and resources required so they can continue the stellar work that has seen crime drop by almost a third under successive Labor governments over the previous 15 years.

I want to thank SAPOL's Dog Operations Unit for their service to our community. I am pleased that we have been able to provide additional protections to our working animals and acknowledge the parliament's effort to do the same with passing what has been affectionately described as Koda's law.

Finally, I hope we will never see an occasion where these vests serve their purpose, but I think the South Australian community will have a lot of confidence and take a lot of comfort in knowing that our police dogs have a degree of protection that is world-class so that when they go about their business of protecting us, we in turn are doing something about protecting them.

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