New class of prison pups ready to bust contraband

The dogged pursuit of justice has some new allies after 11 new K9 recruits graduated with their handlers to join Corrective Services NSW.

The group of prison pups – which included labradors, spaniels and German shepherds – will be deployed with their handlers around the state to help detect and intercept drugs, tobacco and illicit mobile phones from circulating in the prisons.

The dogs and their handlers went through a gruelling 14-week course involving early morning wakeups, with gruelling physical training for both the dogs and their officer handlers.

The officers now have to build the most important working relationship of their careers to date.

They must care for their pups and build mutual trust and skills to face potentially volatile situations.

K9 handler David Sultana, who graduated with his new dog Chloe, was formally commended for adapting to the challenge of training the excitable spaniel.

“She was one of the greener dogs on the course and had no obedience,” Sultana said.

“We’ve gone from scratch to her being prepared to go into a prison and search for drugs including methamphetamine, cannabis and suboxone.

“Getting into a cell and searching, having your dog beside you doing what you’ve taught them to do is going to be very rewarding.’

Fellow handler Lana Tye was surprised by how perfectly she was suited to her new black labrador, Coco.

“We are both high-energy and task-oriented with a real enjoyment of athletic activity,” Tye said.

“The joy now is to come to work with my best friend and know that I get to take her home with me.”

There are 44 handler and dog teams in CSNSW’s K9 Unit, based in a number of regions across the state including the Central West, Hunter, Northern, Southern and Sydney metropolitan.

The unit can be called into any CSNSW facility, and can also support other teams such as NSW Police.

In the 2022-2023 financial year, the unit conducted 2106 K9 searches across the state.