Meet Rocky, Gru and Blue...armed with 126 teeth to take on Northamptonshire's villains

Meet the new recruits with 126 teeth ready to get stuck into Northamptonshire villains.

Three police dogs — Rocky, Blue and Gru — are already out on paw patrol after completing two years training to join the county's crime-fighting force.

And they've got a nice new set of wheels to ride in each after Chief Constable Nick Adderley forked out to add six new dog-friendly 4x4 response vehicles.

The Skoda Kodiaq 2.0s utilise the latest in vehicle technology, enabling additional ground clearance, advanced response time and better vehicle handling — and are fitted with larger boot cavities giving additional head room for Force's 14 operational working dogs.

Sergeant Chris Monday, of Northamptonshire Police’s Dog Section, said: “Within the first 24 hours of these vehicles being operationally deployed, we already began to see fantastic results.

“One of our handlers, PC Sean Foster, pursued a driver who failed to stop in the early hours of March 14.

"After the driver stopped his vehicle and tried to run away on foot PC Foster’s right-hand canine, PD Nala, came into her own and successfully brought the pursuit to an end.

“This result was on the very first night of our new fleet being used on operational duty, and I’m confident we will continue to see great results.”

PD Rocky also got off to a flier in one of his first shifts, tracking a suspect who attempted to hide behind some bins!

Northamptonshire Police’s Dog Section has seen its largest investment in recent years with a 50 per cent increase of handler numbers with more in the pipeline in the coming months.

Mr Adderley and Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold welcomed the three newest recruits — PC Charlie How with PD20 Rocky, PC Steve Knight with PD18 Blue, and PC Bradley Bowman with PD17 Gru — at last week's launch.

The Chief Constable said: “Our handlers and police dogs put their lives on the line every day to fight crime and protect the people of Northamptonshire, and it’s only right they should be equipped with the best tools and kit available to keep up the fantastic work they do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

“Our Dog Section is already a force to be reckoned with. With this increased investment I expect to see them continue to expand, progress and take their unique crime fighting capacities to an even higher level."

Commissioner Stephen Mold set aside £750,000 in the previous year’s budget and asked the Chief Constable to invest in initiatives that would help fight crime more effectively and increase public confidence. This included investment that has doubled the size of the dog section.

Stephen said: “Northamptonshire Police dogs and their handlers have a well-deserved reputation for their proactive and effective approach to tackling crime. The investment we have made in doubling the size of the team will ensure that they have much more ability to support policing operations right across the county.”