Police dog joint support unit to be split up

The forces established a shared dog support unit in 2016

A dog support unit (DSU) shared between three police forces is to be split up.

Durham, Cleveland and North Yorkshire merged the service in 2016 in a bid to cuts costs and increase expertise.

The three chief constables have now agreed that due to changing demands, including a need for officers to travel long distances more often, they will return to the individual forces.

The change will not affect the overall cost of policing, and there are no plans to reduce the number of dogs.

There will still be opportunities for joint-working, for example when specific incidents require the use of a greater number of dogs at one location.