A NEW four-legged crimefighter is being put through his paces at Staffordshire Police.
Sprocker spaniel Del Boy is being trained to sniff out digital devices.
The 11-week-old pup will eventually be tasked with finding electronic equipment hidden away by criminals.
Sergeant Dan Till, from Staffordshire Police’s dog support unit, said the new recruit was already proving popular among officers:
“He goes by several names – Del, Del Boy and Derrick. He’s very mischievous and is very sociable and loves a fuss from anyone who will give him one too.
“He will be trained to be a digital evidence detection dog, supporting our colleagues in our digital forensics department. He will be able to search for and detect electronic equipment, such as sim cards, hard drives, memory sticks, flash drives, mobile phones, car keys, trackers, batteries and many other items.
“Del was given to us by a breeder who kindly donates one pup per litter to a police force.
“Many others have gone on to become police search dogs and I’m sure Del will too – once he gets his head out of the bin.”