Information about the role of a dog unit nominated officer, including the role purpose, key responsibilities and the skills required.
About the role
A dog unit nominated officer is a specialist operations position within the operational support sector of policing. It's a manager/expert adviser role in the policing professional profiles.
Role purpose
Nominated officers direct the day-to-day operations of the dog unit. They supervise the dog unit sergeant, kennel manager and training manager and manage the performance of dog teams and dog unit. They review all dog bites and licence withdrawals and act as the gatekeeper to the wider police community and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Key responsibilities
Key responsibility statements show the accountabilities for someone in this role. They focus on what is done, not how it is done.
- Managing threat risk and harm during the care, training or deployment of police dogs to ensure health, safety and welfare of dogs, police officers, staff and members of the public.
- Co-ordinating the recording and retention of risk assessments to ensure safe and effective running of the dog unit.
- Monitoring accuracy of dog personal files to ensure compliance with national guidance and current animal welfare legislation.
- Managing the activity of police dog teams, identifying issues, devising and implementing effective development strategies and embedding professional standards to improve team/individual performance and achieve unit/force objectives.
- Managing the maintenance and updating of continuing professional development (CPD) requirements for police dog teams to ensure future operational effectiveness and individual development.
- Managing the care, training, and handling of police dogs, to ensure their health, welfare and operational effectiveness.
- Managing bite work training allocation to ensure safety during training and safe and effective operational deployments.
- Managing dog bite/incident reports initiating any subsequent action to ensure the safe and effective deployment of police dogs.
- Acting as an intermediary between the dog unit and wider police family and IOPC (If necessary) to ensure openness and transparency of dog unit operations.
- Managing assessment of dog teams, including chairing licence withdrawal reviews, considering evidence and decision-making regarding withdrawal of dog from operational service, to ensure an effective team and maintenance of required standards.
- Providing advice regarding policy development and decisions involving dog use ensuring policies are effective.
- Ensuring compliance with authorised professional practice (APP), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) standards, animal welfare and legislation in decision making regarding re-homing or euthanasia.
Competencies, values and core skills
The competency and values framework (CVF) provides clear expectations for everyone working in policing. It describes the behaviours required by police officers and staff to be effective in their roles and uphold the Code of Ethics for policing.
Competencies
The CVF has six competencies, which are split into levels. These levels can be used flexibly to allow for a better fit with frontline and non-frontline policing roles, and at different levels of seniority. This ensures that there is consistency throughout all the policing professional profiles. Some roles may contain different CVF levels due to the specialist nature of the role. Those working at higher levels should also fulfil the requirements of the lower levels.
This role should be operating at or working towards the following competencies.
- We are emotionally aware – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We take ownership – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We collaborate – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We support and inspire – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We analyse critically – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We are innovative and open-minded – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
Values
The CVF has three values that apply to everyone in policing, regardless of their role or seniority.
Core skills
All roles in policing have nine core skills in common. These are split into levels that represent the different levels of policing. This role should be operating at or working towards the following core skills.
- Communicating and influencing – Level 3
- Problem solving – Level 3
- Performance management – Level 3
- Relationship management – Level 3
- Change management – Level 3
- Managing people – Level 3
- Managing resources – Level 3
- Planning – Level 3
- Use of IT – Level 3
Education, qualifications and experience
To achieve effective performance in the role, the following standards, training and qualifications should be met.
Previous education, qualifications and experience
- Successfully complete NPCC specific risk assessment training requirements for role.
- Successfully complete NPCC specific health and safety training requirements for role.
Continuing professional development
Continuing professional development (CPD) enables everyone in policing to develop and gain recognition for their professional skills, knowledge and competence. CPD ensures that we continue to provide high-quality policing to keep the public safe and help to drive career aspirations. Discussion of CPD is usually included as part of professional development review (PDR) conversations.
Learning and accreditation
- Complete all core training and learning required by the force.
- Complete all annual and mandatory training for example risk assessments in relation to all areas of police dog care, training, and deployment.
- Any exemptions to learning and accreditation requirements are at chief constable discretion, in line with the local force policy.
Professional development
This role should consider the following CPD:
- all staff must have a documented continuing professional development (CPD) portfolio to ensure they are adequately trained or within the process of being trained to promote the welfare of police dogs
- maintain knowledge and understanding of the College of Policing leadership development learning content that is relevant to the role/rank
- maintain knowledge and understanding of Police dogs APP, NPCC guidance. best practice and any local policy applicable to the operational police context and leading and managing police dog teams
- maintain and update key knowledge, understanding and skills relating to legislation policy and practice in relation to the dog handler function and area of policing operational responsibility
- maintain knowledge and understanding of new approaches identified by evidence-based dog training research relating to the dog training function, including problem solving and team working, and synthesise these into working practice(s)
- maintain a working knowledge and understanding of new and evolving dog training and welfare methodologies and ideologies that impact upon the role of dog handling teams; and current best practice to tackle these in order to enable a pro-active and preventative approach
- maintain a working knowledge and understanding of animal welfare legislation and current, new, and evolving best practices with regards dog training and dog welfare
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