Female officer achieves dream

Constable Elyse Lewis and Mist have graduated from the Police Dog Training Centre at Trentham near Wellington and are ready to track criminals. Photo / Supplied

Constable Elyse Lewis has a new crimefighting partner with some bite.

Ms Lewis, a front-line officer for nine years in Northland, spent the past nine months training as a police dog handler in Dunedin and graduated with dog Mist at a ceremony at the Police Dog Training Centre at Trentham, near Wellington, last Thursday.

Two days later the duo were out on the beat ready to track criminals on the streets of Dunedin. There were no callouts for the canine unit that night but when they go back on duty tomorrow night they hope there will be some action.

Ms Lewis is only the fifth female dog handler in the history of New Zealand police and one of two currently working the beat in New Zealand. Senior Constable Sue Burridge, and her dog Hades, work in the Wellington police dog section.

Graduation was a proud moment for the 28-year-old former Kamo High School student, of Ngati Kahu decent. "It's been a career goal of mine since joining the police. It's been a real special moment for me and a huge personal achievement," Ms Lewis said. "It's special in the history of policing and I'm proud to be part of that history."

Training over the last nine months has been both mentally and physically challenging. When she arrived in the southern city she was given two 8-month-old pups, Mist and Cole, to choose from. Mist was an obvious choice for the rookie dog handler as the canine crimefighter was highly driven and very responsive.

Together they worked their way through three three-week training courses at the Police Dog Training Centre.

"I had to learn everything myself for the first time and teach the dog and that was quite challenging. I got good results early on and Mist made it easier."

The duo learnt skills including tracking, engaging an offender and obedience, for scenarios that included an offender escaping from a crime scene, an offender with a weapon and search and rescue. While 16-month-old Mist was a small dog, she was very capable.

"She's still only young and we're both still learning but we have a great bond that will only develop as we go on," Ms Lewis said.

"I hope what I have achieved is not only giving women motivation but anyone who wants to achieve a goal."