Gardaí to consider bringing in full-time cadaver dog, says Commissioner
An Garda Síochána is to consider bringing a full-time cadaver dog into the force to avoid being 'entirely reliant on others', the Garda Commissioner said.
Drew Harris said that the services of a cadaver dog are rarely used, and in his tenure has only been used on three occasions.
Advertisement
Speaking to reporters at Phoenix Park on Monday, Mr Harris said they will look at acquiring one.
Currently, gardaí use the services of one cadaver dog which belongs to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
'A cadaver dog, thankfully, are rarely used, and on these islands there's only a small number of these dogs,' Mr Harris said.
'In my tenure here, we have used these dogs in about three occasions. So, we work with support of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. We will look to see, in time, should we introduce a cadaver dog ourselves, because we don't want to be entirely reliant on others, but others may rely on us if we have that dog available.
Advertisement
'A cadaver dog is not out every day working in the same way that a drugs, or firearms or money dog would be.
'It's a very specialist resource.'
Mr Harris said using dogs in policing operations required specialist training, and that cadaver dogs are a subset of that which requires specialist work.
'Not often required operationally, it's not a usual thing that we would need a cadaver dog,' he said.
Advertisement
It comes as the Minister for Justice raised concern with Mr Harris over how long it took to find the body of murder victim Tina Satchwell.
Jim O'Callaghan also said it would be preferable if An Garda Siochana had its own cadaver dog to help find human remains.
Asked whether a cadaver dog should have been brought into the Satchwell home in 2017 during the investigation, Mr O'Callaghan said 'probably, it should have happened'.
He said he also spoke to Mr Harris about the effectiveness of cadaver dogs.
Advertisement
'They're a very specialised dog in terms of trying to train them, there is one on the island of Ireland, the PSNI has one,' he said.
Ireland
Garda vehicle numbers rise to more than 3,600 afte...
Read More
'That dog is sought by many police forces in Britain as well. We got the use of the dog here and he was of much assistance.'
Mr Harris said that the 2017 investigation into Mrs Satchwell's disappearance is being reviewed.
'But what I know from the report I've seen, is that this suspicion was that harm had been caused to Tina Satchwell but there was no suspicion that her body was there,' Mr Harris added.
Advertisement
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
People smugglers advertise ‘back door' migrant routes on Facebook
People smugglers are exploiting the soft border between Britain and Ireland to try to bring illegal migrants into the UK, Facebook adverts reveal. Albanian gangs are charging £4,000 to get the migrants to this country through the 'back door' route, a Telegraph investigation shows. The gangs give migrants fake Italian ID cards that are used to fly them into Ireland, before they sneak into mainland Britain on ferries, allowing them to work illegally or claim asylum with their Albanian passports. The immigration scam is one of a series of ruses being promoted on Facebook. Advertisements offer the chance for Albanian migrants to enter the UK via plane, lorry or yacht. The routes are being advertised as an alternative to Channel crossings after a crackdown by authorities and the introduction of a fast-track deportation scheme that reduced the number of Albanians arriving in small boats from 12,658 in 2022 to fewer than 1,000 last year. It has forced the Border Force and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to adapt their tactics. Twenty Albanians were found hidden in a yacht intercepted in Cornwall in April. Last month, 33 people were arrested as part of a crackdown on people smugglers in Northern Ireland abusing the common travel area (CTA). The CTA allows free movement between the UK and Ireland. Passports are not required for UK and Irish citizens travelling between the countries. Although air and sea carriers say they require some form of ID, documents are not always checked. Ireland is not in the EU's Schengen Area but will accept EU IDs as well as passports. Ben Thomas, the Home Office immigration enforcement deputy director, said: 'Criminal networks seek to bypass robust border checks through fraudulent means and trap vulnerable people into further illegal activities. 'The success of this operation marks a significant step up in enforcement activity leading to the arrest of 33 criminals who attempted to abuse the common travel area and undermine the UK's border security.' In a post on a Facebook group entitled Albanians in the UK, a people smuggler said: 'Who'd like to go up to the island and join their family? We have the best ways and super offers.' An undercover reporter, posing as a prospective illegal migrant, was told: 'I'd like to suggest to you the best way –by airplane from Italy. I hope you have travelled in the past by airplane and do not have any banning orders to enter the EU. I sent a couple and a child one week ago. It went very well. 'From Italy, you get to Dublin, Ireland, and then to the UK. It's £4,000 sterling per person. Money to be paid in Albania. We send you from Albania to Italy with your Albanian passports, then from Italy to Dublin on Italian ID cards. You will stay a maximum of one or two days in Naples. 'The IDs are Italian. They are real and resemble the person travelling. No one will touch you at the gates. We have information and our person there. 'In Dublin, you claim asylum with the Albanian passport, then you go to Northern Ireland and travel to the UK. On arrival in the UK, there is no passport control. Do not worry about it. 'That family I mentioned to you went to Dublin on easyJet.' The people smuggler sent a video of an easyJet plane with an Albanian showing the two-finger symbol of liberty. Another ad in a Facebook group entitled Work in the UK, with 17,800 members, posted on June 7: 'Lorry, yacht, and airplane. The best prices for those who'd like to get to the UK.' A third in the same group charged £5,000 for a 'lorry to the UK'. A fourth, dated June 1, said: 'Hello Albanians. Who is interested in getting to the UK on a small boat or lorry? Leave your mobile number and I will contact you.' Another account, under a female name, claimed to be working for the Home Office and was willing to help asylum seekers with their application. Her ad, posted on June 4, stated: 'Anyone who needs help with documents, I work for the Home Office and help Albanians prepare documents, write letters to family and friends, take photos with relevant descriptions – everything needed to build the case before it is sent. Please, only write to me if you are serious.'
Belfast Telegraph
an hour ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Members of Kinahan crime gang should be ‘very worried'
Drew Harris said that a 'huge and international' effort has gone into the investigation of the Kinahan crime gang. He said that a lot of things which were said 'couldn't be done, have been done'. Mr Harris made the comments after McGovern was extradited from the United Arab Emirates and charged with murder and other charges relating to directing the activities of a criminal organisation. The 39-year-old appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin amid high security almost two weeks ago. Asked whether certain people involved in the Kinahan gang and living in Dubai should be worried, Mr Harris said: 'Yes, they should be worried. But they should have been worried now for a number of years, because this huge investigative effort, and international effort, has gone into the investigation of the overall Kinahan organised crime gang. 'A lot of things which said couldn't be done, have been done. So following on from the sanctions, the work then that we've undertaken with UAE, and the work that specifically we've undertaken them with the police in Dubai, has been very fruitful. 'They have been very active partners with us in terms of investigation, providing information, and obviously, then UAE authorities have worked to support the extradition. 'We see an individual then extradited back to Ireland to face justice here, and that's the correct thing to do. 'But I would also point out, the other senior lieutenants within the Kinahan organised crime group who are now facing justice or are imprisoned, the sanctions and the rewards still stand.' Mr Harris said that the reward of 15 million US dollars for the three leaders of the gang still stands. 'I just want to remind others in the Kinahan organised crime gang of the perilous position that they're now in, that ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice,' Mr Harris added. 'So all of them should be worried, and they should be think about the choices, serious life choices, that are now ahead of them in respect of what to do over the coming months. 'Our work with the Dubai police obviously carries on.' Deputy Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said gardai will be 'absolutely relentless' in their pursuit of the criminals. 'I think the events last week are absolute evidence of that. And I think it's really important as well that everybody knows that there's other transnational organised criminal crime groups outside the Kinahan OCG and exactly the same for those, it doesn't matter where in the world they are, we will seek to have them extradited back to Ireland,' he added. 'Some of these people need to have a really good think, and have some serious life choices they can make. 'So extradition agreements, all the work by the Department of Justice, and the Department Foreign Affairs, are really important to our organisation.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Daughter of Ian Paterson patient: 'My mum was robbed of a life with her family'
A woman who was operated on by jailed surgeon Ian Paterson was "robbed of a life with her husband and children," an inquest has Cordon, who lived in Kingstanding, Birmingham, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33 and died six years later in November death is one of 63 to be examined at inquests, to determine whether she died an unnatural death as a result of Paterson's a statement read by the coroner, Judge Richard Foster, Mrs Cordon's daughter Bernice Cordon described her as "the bravest, most caring woman to walk this earth". "She had a heart full of love and a belly full of fire," she said."She was the life and soul of the party. Even in the last few days she was putting everything before herself."Ms Cordon said her mother enjoyed her job at Good Hope Hospital, but that her passion was always her family, particularly her children."She gave us all the attention we needed, no matter how dark her days were with illness," her statement read."It was her worst fear too. As time came on, it became apparent she would be leaving the one thing she lived for." Ms Cordon said her mother's relationship with her father was incredible."She was robbed of a life with her husband and children," her statement said."She will never know what growing old feels like or to be a grandmother."Yvonne Cordon, whose maiden name was Miles, was born in Northern Ireland on 11 July 1961, with Judge Foster reflecting that she would have grown up during The Troubles. Video-link evidence The inquest heard that she was a patient at Good Hope Hospital, an NHS hospital in Sutton Coldfield, after being referred to Ian Paterson by her GP due to a lump being found in her tissue and five lymph nodes were later removed, which led to a diagnosis of grade-three breast carcinoma, which had spread to one of the lymph nodes. The cancer later spread to her bones and lungs. She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, as well as radiotherapy, and was prescribed a hormone therapy drug called Tamoxifen. Ian Paterson was due to give evidence via video-link on Monday but was unable to, with the inquest told there were internet connection issues at the was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2017, after being convicted of wounding patients with botched and unnecessary operations, but will be eligible for release in inquest continues. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
