Poca the cocker begins her police journey
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Our latest four legged recruit has taken her first tentative steps to becoming a police dog, and she has been funded directly by the proceeds of crime.
Poca, who is a nine week old cocker spaniel, has been named after the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) – which seeks to claw back the money made from crime.
Her 12 month training journey will now begin and Poca will become a Warwickshire Police specialist detection dog when she is approximately 14 months old. At this early stage her training is just about learning to play with toys and seeing as much as possible.
Poca will live at home with her handler PC Kaz Richards, and she has already been meeting some of our other police puppies, and exploring her new environment.
PC Richards, from Warwickshire Police’s Dog Unit said: “Poca is a wonderful addition to the team, and is already turning heads when we are out and about, with her inquisitive and playful personality. These are great traits to have in a police dog, and we hope she will go on to help us solve lots of cases, and bring offenders to justice.”
Poca is the first Warwickshire Police dog to be funded in this way. She has come from a private breeder, and will join a number of new puppies in the coming weeks.
Bob Turner, from the Economic Crime Unit (ECU) said: “This is a fabulous example of how we can use the proceeds of crime. The money used to buy Poca was forfeited by the courts under the Misuse of Drugs Act and amounts to money seized from convicted drug suppliers.
“Poca will now help us recover cash from criminals including drug dealers, who have ironically paid for her to join us. The Misuse of Drugs and Proceeds of Crime Acts deny offenders from benefiting from their ill-gotten gains, and we will continue to utilise these provisions at every opportunity.”
You'll be able to follow Poca's journey over the coming weeks and months using #Pocathecocker on the Warwickshire Police Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts:
