Paraparaumu police dog gets first issue harness

DYNAMIC DUO: Senior Sergeant Mark Davidson with Ike, who is wearing a new stab-resistant harness, which has the tag number 001.

Tucked under police dog Ike's impressive looking new stab-resistant multipurpose harness is a metal tag with the inscription 001.

Ike gets to wear the historic piece of crime fighting kit because his handler, Senior Sergeant Mark Davidson, from Paraparaumu, has been a driving force in the development of the harness.

Mr Davidson, who is head of the Wellington dog section, said adding protection to police dogs had been a topic that had festered for years but it was only about a year ago when he approached the national police dog coordinator Todd Southall about developing a new police dog harness that offered 100 percent more physical protection.

Mr Southall didn't hesitate and said go ahead and do it.

Alan Inkpen, who is the New Zealand Defence Force military working dogs capability manager, and Mr Davidson teamed up and brainstormed ideas.

The first school of thought was about having a harness which identified the dog, didn't limit mobility, and had the ability to add some protection as well as other stuff such as cameras, GPS units, tactical lights and so forth.

"Once we made up a decent requirement list, that list went out to tender," Mr Davidson said.

Having a harness that wasn't weighty, had good identification, could be supported in New Zealand, and could fit a range of sizes, were some of the key requirements.

Two companies put in a tender which led to Hamilton based Sabre Tactical NZ given the design task.

The result is the impressive Mako harness made from milspec nylon and trelleborg material which does not absorb moisture and also gives the animal protection from blows and kicks.

The harness, which is fitted with 23 layered polymer panels to shield the vital organs from stabbing and slashing, weighs just over one kilogram and is designed so it won't impair agility and speed, dries quickly and can be worn throughout a shift.

Sturdy handles fore and aft and strong buckles ensure the dog can be lifted or winched, easily and safely.

"The harness has got range of innovations including the way it can be adjusted, the way we can add stab protection, the way it is set up to accept other pieces of equipment such as cameras among other things," Mr Davidson said.

The Government funded harnesses, which are manufactured in New Zealand, are being rolled out to the 135 operational police dogs across the country.

Mr Davidson, a veteran police officer who is also the Armed Offenders Squad commander in Wellington, said the number of harnesses [each worth $890 excluding GST] would grow because of police dogs in training.

"The plan is to have all police dogs, from a puppy all the way through, because then they will get used to the harness."

He was delighted with the harness, which is certified to meet certain standards, and has sparked interest from the Australian police force.

"We've been really aware over the years that our dogs had only speed and mobility for protection, but with this new harness we've given them another level of protection alongside that.

"It's a bit of a milestone for the dog section in terms of staff and dog safety."