UK police dogs provide security at Paris Olympics

British expertise is being used in Paris after London hosted the 2012 Olympics

Two specialist search dogs from the West and their handlers have been boosting security at the Paris Olympics.

PC Richard Martin and Sgt Ben Smith from Avon and Somerset Police headed there before the event on 2-14 July with their two explosive detection dogs - EmmyLou and Hope.

Officers from forces across the UK are being deployed periodically to support the French security teams and engagement operation over the eight-week event.

Part of the reason they were invited was due to a "level of expertise" gained from hosting the London Olympics in 2012.

Police dog Hope has been helping security teams in Paris

PC Martin and Sgt Smith were deployed to Paris to assist the Police Nationale with their overall security operations in the Olympic Village.

Spanning 51 hectares, the village overlap Saint-Denis, Ile Saint-Denis, and Saint-Ouen, with each town accommodating some of the 14,000 athletes during the Olympic Games.

“It’s an absolutely enormous task, an enormous event, and you get such a feeling of scale more than anything," said PC Martin.

He added that the French security teams were initially sceptical of the dogs, as their forces tend to employ more territorial breeds.

“They were absolutely fascinated by them," PC Martin said.

PC Martin said the dog handlers were “so proud to show them off"

"I think on day one when we got out of the van, they were almost a laughing stock because they [the French] only use Malinois or German Shepherds and they saw these tiny, busy, little animals get out," PC Martin continued.

"But by the end of the deployment I think they were very much convinced that these dogs were more than capable, having seen them work."

EmmyLou is now heading into retirement, having served on the force for nine years, while Hope is "only just starting her career" after gaining her licence in September 2023.

"Both of us are quite new to this discipline of dog handling, so I couldn't be more proud of her," Sgt Smith said.

Sgt Ben Smith was Hope's handler in Paris

The spaniels quickly became a popular fixture in the Olympic Village, with volunteers and staff vying for their attention.

"The energy levels in the village, there was a lot of excitement there, so the dogs definitely picked up on it themselves and got involved with all the staff, it was nice for them," said Sgt Smith.

"The search teams would run over and call their names out, and the dogs would run up to their favourite people by the end of the fortnight," PC Martin added.

Additional teams of UK search dogs are being deployed during the games, helping the French authorities to keep fans and athletes safe.