Local police dogs will soon be on the beat in the Inverell region with the four-legged canines to arrive before the end of the year.
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A police dog handler, and two trained dogs including a sniffer detection dog and cadaver dog, are due to begin working at the Inverell Police Station next week.
The New England Police District has never had a dedicated dog unit based here, but when Inverell's new police station was being designed two years ago, provisions were made for one.
While it will be based in Inverell, it will be on call for police in every community across the Northern Tablelands - from Mungindi in the west, east to Ebor and north to Tenterfield.
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Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall secured a commitment for the Dog Unit from Police Commissioner Mick Fuller during his visit to Inverell in August this year.
During the meeting he voiced the need for a full complement of officers once the new police precinct is complete and the need for a dog unit to be based in Inverell.
Mr Marshall said he felt it was important the Commissioner saw first-hand the scope of the state-of-the-art facility and heard exactly what services and equipment officers would need to keep their community safe into the future.
"The Commissioner has kept his word, with the recruitment process starting almost immediately and now we're almost there," Mr Marshall said after meeting with police in October.
Mr Marshall met with Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys that month to have the deployment fast-tracked.
Space has been allocated underneath the new police station for the dog unit.
The new Inverell Police Station will have undercover parking bays, plenty of storage space, new main access, secure fencing and undercover access way connecting the police station to the Inverell Court House.
The new 24-hour station is expected to be complete next year.
