IT may seem impossible to us, but our canine friends with a superior sense of smell are helping fight crime – by sniffing it out.

This month, Dorset Police is celebrating the first anniversary of the introduction of digital detection dogs to help solve crimes across the county.

Having previously gone through training to become licensed, in December 2023 the Dorset force began using operational digital detection dogs.

Since then, the dogs – Labrador Harrison and springer spaniel Wilma – have been involved in numerous investigations and assisted teams across the organisation, as well as mutual aid and partner agencies.

Both dogs are specially trained to search and locate digital devices that may not be obvious to spot to the human eye.

The initial training takes around six weeks to complete before the dogs become operational and begin providing assistance to officers and staff searching for evidence.

The digital world is constantly evolving, so the dogs are continuously undergoing training to ensure they are able to detect the latest devices.

Inspector Dave Kewley, of Dorset Police, said: “With the digital world constantly advancing, it is imperative that we keep up-to-speed and modernise the way we can use the skills of our canine colleagues to assist with all types of crime detection.

“Dogs search in a completely unique way and use their incredible sense of smell to identify items, which can seem unbelievable and impossible to human noses.

“Using a digital detection dog can really help to save the amount of time that is spent searching a particular location. The dog’s powerful sense of smell can identify an object in seconds, whereas it may take a trained search officer a lot longer despite their best efforts.

“We are really proud of the work that PD Harrison and PD Wilma have been involved with so far in their first year.”

Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, David Sidwick, said: “Dorset Police dogs do a fantastic job supporting officers to ensure our county remains a safe place to live, work and visit.

“The dog unit plays a vital role in reducing risk to members of the public by keeping drugs and weapons off our streets, and discovering digital devices with harmful content.

“As the world becomes more technology focused and spends more time online, so do criminals. That is why I am delighted by the success of our two digital detection dogs over the 12 months, and the Force’s continued approach to adopting innovative forms of modern policing.

“I would like to thank Harrison and Wilma, and their handlers, for the hard work that is contributing to driving down crime rates in Dorset.”