Trauma training for dog units

2001-03-06 17:27

Pretoria - Commanders of police dog units are currently undergoing training in trauma debriefing in a bid to address the psychological well-being of dog handlers.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mala Singh of the police's career management division said it was hoped that commanders would be able to:

identify trauma and post traumatic stress;

render immediate support to policemen;

enable policemen to air their thoughts and feelings;

refer members to a debriefing team.

Two courses had already been presented in Cape Town and five in Pretoria West, and were collectively attended by about 350 commanders.

The police's dog units have increasingly come under fire after a spate of attacks on unarmed civilians.

Last year six East Rand dog unit policemen were arrested for setting their dogs on illegal immigrants during a filmed "training exercise". - Sapa

- SAPA