The Police K-9 Unit, formerly the Police Dog Unit (PDU) is a specialist force of the

Singapore Police Force The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; human, wea ...

(SPF) under the direct command of the Special Operations Command. It specialises in the training of police dogs in

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, drug detection, guard duties, anti-crime operations, helping detain criminals, and general purposes. The Singapore K-9 unit works in collaboration with the rest of the SPF and the Home Team.

Historical background

Dogs were first used in police work in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

when an

Airedale Terrier The Airedale Terrier (often shortened to "Airedale"), also called Bingley Terrier and Waterside Terrier, is a dog breed of the terrier type that originated in the valley (''dale'') of the River Aire, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It ...

was acquired from a British army officer to aid in the search of escaped prisoners in 1911, although this was ceased prematurely the following year when the dog perished. They did not return until the 1950s, when the positive experiences of utilising police dogs in the United Kingdom demonstrated their usefulness. This prompted the Singapore authorities to send

Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

Frank C Pestana to the Metropolitan Dog Training School for a 3-month Dog Instructor Course in 1954. Upon his return with four

German Shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

s, the forerunner of the PDU was established at the Police Training School (now the Training Command) at Thomson Road in 1955. These dogs were used for a variety of roles, including the suppression of

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activities, crowd control, anti-house breaking patrols and the tracking of criminals. The Customs & Excise Department's canine unit and

Prisons Department A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

's canine unit were absorbed in 1987 and 1995 respectively. The last remaining canine unit under Singapore's group of domestic law enforcement agencies, belonging to

Singapore Civil Defence Force The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is an uniformed organisation in Singapore under the Ministry of Home Affairs that provides emergency services such as firefighting, technical rescue, and emergency medical services, and coordinates nati ...

was colocated with PDU. The PDU has since grown to over 250 dogs today. Its new base at

Mowbray Road Mowbray may refer to: People * Mowbray (surname), including a list of people with the name * House of Mowbray, an Anglo-Norman noble house * Baron Mowbray, a title in the Peerage of England * Mowbray Baronets a title in the Baronetage of the Uni ...

was officially opened on 31 January 2004, having moved to the

Choa Chu Kang Choa Chu Kang, alternatively spelt as Chua Chu Kang and often abbreviated as CCK, is a planning area and residential town located at the north-westernmost point of the West Region of Singapore. The town shares borders with Sungei Kadut to t ...

site from the old

Mowbray Camp Mowbray may refer to: People * Mowbray (surname), including a list of people with the name * House of Mowbray, an Anglo-Norman noble house * Baron Mowbray, a title in the Peerage of England * Mowbray Baronets a title in the Baronetage of the Un ...

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together with the

Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command The Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command (SAF Military Police Command), previously known as the Singapore Armed Forces Provost Unit (SAFPU), is the military police formation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). They perform policing ...

References

{{Singapore Police Force Special Operations Command (Singapore) Police dogs People working with dogs