A POLICE dog officer is yet to be sniffed out for the city.
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A year since Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson assured residents the position would not be lost, there's still no one in the job and no prospects on the horizon.
"I'm waiting on a briefing from the Western Region commander, we have discussed this issue," Mr Anderson said.
"The position is absolutely still in Tamworth and will be in Tamworth.
"We have had difficulty recruiting to that position so the Western Region commander is looking at recruiting locally."
The closest dog squad is at least three hours away in Dubbo, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle or Port Macquarie.
In the interim police have to apply for a unit to travel to town.
Understandably it makes it tough to catch offenders who flee on foot.
Mr Anderson said he'd been "jammed" with Werris Creek and emergency disasters but would organise a meeting with police to discuss issues recruiting for the position as soon as possible.
Asked whether he thought a second role should be opened up to lessen the burden on one police dog officer, Mr Anderson said that was an operational matter for the Oxley Police District.
"That's something for the commissioner to decide, I will work as hard as I can to have someone come to regional NSW," he said.
"It's always difficult recruiting to regional NSW whether that's a police officer, doctor or any other profession."
The dog unit was sent to Tamworth for several days in December to try to put a stop to a spate of break-and-enters and property crime.
The tracking dog worked alongside general duties police over several night shifts as part of the operation.
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A year ago the community expressed concerns that the dog unit position would be moved to another local area command if it could not be filled in Tamworth.
There were some suggestions that if the job remained vacant the police dog officer unit would be moved to Armidale in the New England Local Area Command.