Police dog Jura 'triumphs' during first year in force

Working alongside his handler PC Darren Sewell, Jura has sniffed out suspects who ran from a stolen vehicle, detained a domestic abuser and located a golf buggy used in a burglary.

PD Jura with his handler PC Darren Sewell

PC Darren Sewell, has been a dog handler for 18 years and said: “Since becoming a licensed police dog Jura has gone from strength to strength and he is developing into a great all-rounder.

“His nose work with tracking and searching is a very high standard and he is a very confident police dog.

“In his first year he has found and helped to detain 33 suspects which is fantastic for a newly licensed police dog.”

In the last few weeks alone, Jura has been instrumental in finding two stolen cars, which had been abandoned in different areas of the city. As well as helping to arrest the driver of a vehicle on cloned plates.

Although the crime-fighting duo have only been operational for the last 12 months, their partnership began more than three years ago – when Darren took on Jura as a 12-week-old puppy.

At the time Darren was working with PD Gilly and hoped, alongside his shifts, he would train Jura to follow in Gilly’s paw prints when he retired.

PC Darren Sewell in 2020 with PD Gilly and the then 16-week-old Jura 

However, after just eight weeks together, in April 2020, Darren was diagnosed with stage four blood cancer and was urgently signed off work while he underwent treatment and shielded during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jura and Darren were reunited in December 2020 and Darren was given the all-clear which meant the pair could continue their training at home.

In September 2021 they started their initial police training programme.

At the same time, Darren was honoured with an award from the Thin Blue Paw - a national welfare charity supporting and celebrating working and retired police dogs – for the incredible commitment to has shown in his role as a dog handler and trainer.