Floki gives crims paws for thought

Troublemakers had nowhere to hide when four-legged crime-fighter Floki paid a visit to Broome this month.

The 18-month-old Dutch shepherd arrived two weeks ago from the WA Police canine unit with handler Senior Constable Scott Jordan as the latest recruit to assist with the Kimberley District’s Operation BODE.

The campaign was launched to address historic offending over December and January in the region.

Since its launch, police said there had been 85 fewer offences compared with last year.

Sen. Const. Jordan said Floki had only been operational for four weeks but had already delivered “ruff justice” to crooks in Perth and now in Broome.

“On his second night in Perth, he got an offender in a pursuit and he’s had a couple of burglary arrests in Broome,” he said.

“He’s very good, he’s proving his worth already. We’re really happy with him; he’s going to be a really good police dog.”

During their deployment, Sen. Const. Jordan said Floki have been involved in at least 40 jobs, assisting Broome police with various tasks.

“It has been a good experience for both him and for me and good exposure for the dog,” he said.

“Bad guys seem to be a bit more wary with his presence ... it seems to have a good positive impact on the community.”

Broome Police Acting Senior Sergeant Andy Henshaw said the presence of the canine unit in Broome had proved to be a “valuable tool” in fighting volume crime and anti-social issues.

“Broome police will continue to utilise wide-ranging resources, including metropolitan-based assets, to target the issues which confront our community,” he said.