Police canine-unit facility to open in 2013

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This article was published 02/06/2012 (4969 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Police Service’s canine-unit facility is slated to open by April 2013, almost 21/2 years after city council found $1.25 million to build a proper space for working dogs and their handlers.

On Friday, Winnipeg police Chief Keith McCaskill and Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 4,500-square-foot canine-unit centre that will soon rise on a lot south of the East District police station on Dugald Road in Transcona.

The new canine-unit facility will have 11 air-conditioned indoor kennels with attached dog runs, a grooming area, office space and a classroom for demonstrations. Once complete, it will replace temporary shelters that have been criticized for failing to provide adequate shade for the animals — and subjecting neighbouring apartments to the sound of barking dogs.

City council originally approved the new facility in November 2010, using $1.15 million worth of police funds previously earmarked to purchase radio and dispatch equipment and moving another $100,000 out of a rainy-day fund. An earlier plan to build the unit was dropped due to cost overruns during the construction of the East District police station, which dates back to 2008.

The delay in starting construction on the latest plan to build a canine facility stemmed from uncertainty all the desired amenities could be built for $1.25 million, McCaskill told reporters.

“We weren’t sure if we had enough money, to be honest with you,” he said, adding it took time to come up with the right design. The police service eventually chose Caspian Construction to build the facility, based on a design by Number Ten Architecture Group.

“We would have liked to have had it sooner, but you know what? At this stage, we’re going to have a facility the members needed, the city needed and the police service needed,” McCaskill said.

The Winnipeg Police Service has 12 canine teams, comprised of a total of 12 officers and 23 dogs. Each unit is trained for a particular objective, such as sniffing out explosives, finding illegal drugs or assisting with tactical operations.

Since the Winnipeg Police Service is one of the only municipal police forces in Canada to both breed and train its own dogs, the new canine-unit facility will also have a whelping kennel and indoor puppy run.

Most of the dogs are Belgian Malinois, a breed that can be trained nine months earlier than a German shepherd and work four years longer, said Sgt. David Bessason, who’s in charge of the canine unit. There are also some shepherds and one Labrador retriever in the unit.

The Winnipeg Police Service sells fully trained dogs to other police forces for $50,000 and partly trained puppies for $5,000. But most of the dogs that are trained are kept in Winnipeg, where they form close bonds with their human handlers, Bessason said. Canine-unit police officers will continue to house dogs at their private residences this summer, as the new canine-unit facility will not open until next spring. As recently as October 2011, the police hoped to have the new building open for the summer of 2012.

The police hope to raise another $300,000 to build exercise yards and work areas for the dogs alongside the new canine-unit facility, Bessason said. The cash may come from corporate sponsors, conventional city funding or both, he added.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca