A POLICE dog has helped catch two young men in Tamworth yesterday after they allegedly broke into a Goonoo Goonoo Rd motel room.
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The dog tracked down the men after motel occupants reported seeing two men run out of the room at 2am on Monday.
The break-in netted thieves a mobile phone, wallets and personal items, which were later used by police to identify the men.
A 17-year-old and 14-year-old boy were cornered 10 minutes later by the dog and his handler.
The arrest has renewed community interest in a potential dog unit for Tamworth, which was raised at last year’s first law and order meeting at Tamworth Town Hall.
Oxley Local Area Command (LAC) crime manager Phil O’Reilly said the arrest demonstrated how the highly-trained dogs could enhance policing operations.
“It demonstrates the adoptive strategies that we are utilising to combat the changing face of crime in Tamworth,” Inspector O’Reilly said.
He said that while the station was liaising with the Sydney-based dog unit commander, there was no timeframe as to when the dogs would join the Tamworth force.
“Our request is for a general duties and a drug dog,” he said.
“In the meantime, we will continue to request regional and
metropolitan-based dogs to assist us in our policing duties.”
The pair, from a Sydney police unit, arrived in Tamworth last week and were on patrol in and around Tamworth every night across the weekend.
The dog was a general duties dog, used for general tracking and pursuit incidents.
Oxley Local Area Command Inspector Jeff Budd has praised the actions of the dog and its handler, saying the arrest was a good result for Tamworth police.
“They were brought in to address some of our current crime issues, including targeting car thefts and break-ins,” Inspector Budd said.
The 17-year-old Tamworth boy faced Tamworth Children’s Court yesterday charged with aggravated break and enter.
He was remanded in custody and will reappear on February 5 next year.