Hamilton police dog helps with arrests of car theft suspects including 14-year-old girl

One of Hamilton police’s dogs helped the force find and arrest five suspects – with one as young as 14 – who are accused of stealing a vehicle in Ancaster.

Jake, a 10-year-old purebred German Shepherd, is one of four dogs that make up Hamilton’s K9 (“Canine”) Unit along with their human police partners.

Police located a stolen vehicle in Ancaster on Saturday (Sept. 9) and when five suspects saw them, they began to run away, Indy Bharaj, a public information officer for the force, told inthehammer.com today (Sept. 14).

“Police engaged in a foot pursuit, arresting one immediately while the other suspects hid in the area,” Bharaj said in an email.

Jake found two suspects hiding nearby while a resident called about people jumping fences in the yards. 

With Jake’s help, police were able to find and arrest all five suspects, Bharaj said.  

The first suspect was a 16-year-old boy who was charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000. The second one faces the same charge along with others such as two counts of failing to comply with a release order and failing to comply with a youth sentence.

Also, a 14-year-old girl was turned over to Brantford police and a 15-year-old boy was turned over to Halton police. A 20-year-old female was “released unconditionally.”

The K9 Jake specializes in human scent detection. He is also cross-trained in narcotics, firearms and currency detection, according to Bharaj.

“Jake has been involved in multiple arrests and has located over 50 firearms in his career,” he added.

Jake, whose motto is: “Jaws and Paws Enforcing Laws,” was born March 28, 2013 in the Czech Republic, according to his bio on the Hamilton police’s website.

The Hamilton Police Service formed a formal K9 unit in 1960, the first in Ontario.

Through an extensive 16-week training course, Hamilton police said the officers and their assigned dogs learn how to chase, track narcotics, firearms explosives, evidence, as well as missing and wanted persons.

The K9 Unit is often deployed to help with robberies, weapons calls, drug calls and ground searches, among other important assignments, Hamilton police said.

Hamilton K9 Jake, seen with his partner officer Willson, specializes in human scent detection. COURTESY OF HAMILTON POLICE SERVICE