A police dog was used to investigate an allegation that a 10-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted as part of an astonishing new tactic.
Cheshire Police announced it has welcomed 15-month-old Golden Labrador April to the force as a 'sexual crime scene search dog', one of only three in the country. PD April, handled by PC Steve Gunn, has been trained to sniff out tiny traces of sexual fluids, sometimes years after they have been deposited, which can prove essential in cases of rape or sexual assault.
PD April will work across the Cheshire and North Wales Police Alliance Dog Unit following a "rigorous" six week training programme, pioneered by Derbyshire Constabulary's dog and Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) unit, which the force says "has changed the way sexual offences are investigated".
