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Senior Constable Aaron Senior and police dog Cole, from Tasman, are our new National Police Patrol Dog Champions after coming out top in all but one of the disciplines. Northland’s Senior Constable Patrick ‘Bula’ Derbyshire and detector dog ‘Princess’ Ripper were crowned National Narcotics Detector Dog Champions after seeing off competition from fellow Police, Corrections and New Zealand Customs.
In recent years, Nationals have been missed due to Covid and other events, so Inspector Todd Southall, National Coordinator: Police Dogs, says it was a good time to review the competition and make some changes.
As a result, this year each of the competing patrol dog teams had to obtain a certificate of excellence at their national certification to qualify to compete. Some of the exercises at Nationals were also updated with practical scenarios to better reflect what our patrol and detector dog teams experience on the street.
The changes paid off with a tightly fought competition.
Aaron and Cole, who graduated as an operation team in 2023, scored an impressive 85% overall to take out the patrol dog championship. Auckland’s Senior Constable Andrew Clarke and his dog Sam were runner’s up, while Sergeant Elyse Lewis and Ukah, representing Northland, came third.
“Aaron and Cole have shown some outstanding work and were impressive against the intensive competition from the other teams,” says Todd.
“They’ve stood out in demonstrating the high-performing ability and success they show when they are out operationally on the job.”
As well as winning the Frank Riley Cup for highest overall marks, Aaron and Cole also scooped the William Rose Bowl for Criminal Work and the Colin Guppy Cup for Tracking, which was presented by former Mayor of Upper Hutt and Colin’s son, Wayne Guppy.
If it wasn’t for Waikato Constable Zane Carlyon and Obi-Wan winning the Commissioner’s Challenge Cup for Obedience, Aaron and Cole would have bagged the lot.
Aaron says he’s “thrilled” to win with Cole, who’s his third operational dog.
“I have competed in the Nationals twice before with police dog Nour, and previously won the tracking award with him, but this is the first time I have competed with four-year-old Cole, who is exceptional.
“It was however a very challenging competition against some amazing and talented handlers.”
It’s a common misconception you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but nobody had to when it came to the winning team in the Narcotics Detector Dog competition.
Police were quick to lock on to the title, with former champions Patrick and seven-year-old Ripper winning the Alan Symes Cup. They’re no strangers to the title, having won it in 2023 and been runners-up in 2022.
“It’s really not about me, it’s about Ripper,” says Patrick. “She’s a fantastic dog.
“It’s nice to win but an absolute privilege simply to take part against the other great teams from Customs and Corrections.”
Corrections dog handler Todd Carpenter and Tui came second, while Corrections dog handler Damian Hancock placed third with Kaos.
The 51st Police Dog Nationals were held at various location in and around the Royal New Zealand Police College and the Dog Training Centre (DTC) in Trentham.
Prizegiving at the DTC was attended by Commissioner of Police Richard Chambers and executive staff from Department of Corrections and New Zealand Customs Service who also helped present the awards.
As a previous Nationals competitor himself, Todd says he understands what the handlers go through and the frustration of those “if only I’d done…” moments. But he says qualifying to compete at Nationals is an achievement in itself and congratulated all the handlers for doing so.
“It’s been a challenging few days for all the handlers,” says Todd. “The tests they’ve faced under the keen eyes of the judges are indicative of their daily frontline operational work, and in all weather. They’re based on the real-life incidents and decisions that handlers and their dogs must make when they are attending jobs, day and night.
“Dog teams do a fantastic job in helping keep our communities safe. They provide a critical frontline response, supporting all our frontline teams. They are exceptional at detection and prevention capability, and we can’t do without them.”
RESULTS
NATIONAL NARCOTIC DETECTOR DOG CHAMPION – Alan Symes Cup
- Senior Constable Patrick Derbyshire and Ripper – Northland
- Corrections Officer Todd Carpenter and Tui – Hawke’s Bay
- Corrections Officer Damian Hancock and Kaos – Christchurch
NATIONAL POLICE PATROL DOG CHAMPION – Frank Riley Cup for highest overall marks
- Senior Constable Aaron Senior and Cole – Tasman
- Senior Constable Andrew Clarke and Sam – Auckland
- Sergeant Elyse Lewis and Ukah – Northland
WILLIAM ROSE BOWL FOR CRIMINAL WORK
- Senior Constable Aaron Senior and Cole – Tasman
COLIN GUPPY TROPHY FOR TRACKING
- Senior Constable Aaron Senior and Cole – Tasman
COMMISSIONER’S CHALLENGE CUP FOR OBEDIENCE and HEELWORK
- Constable Zane Carlyon and Obi-Wan – Waikato
Source: New Zealand Police
13/03/26
The Upper Hutt Connection 