Police dogs could be getting a high tech upgrade following the Kawerau siege.
Police say the 2016 incident is a good example of where a dog could have been sent in with a camera.
- Kawerau siege: Did the police get it wrong?
- Officer shot in Kawerau siege fell 'like a kauri tree'
- Kawerau police shooter Rhys Warren sentenced to preventive detention
An IPCA report has found serious failings with the 22-hour operation that saw four officers shot, including that the officers should not have gone into the house where Rhys Warren was holed up.
A subsequent policy change led to police dogs being issued with special booties, and now they may be issued cameras capable of taking HD and infrared footage.
Insp Todd Southall told Newshub they're looking at rolling out the harness-mounted cameras to armed offender squads.
"It allows us to mount the cameras on those harnesses then place those dogs into buildings and search those buildings, and it gives us the ability to view the footage live."
The cameras have been successfully trialled in Canterbury and would allow officers to better plan for if somebody is hiding in a house.
"It allows the arrest team members to identify the location of an offender or a suspect in a house and then we can withdraw the dog and then we can look at plans to get into that house."
Newshub.
