New police dog on the beat in Kal

There is a new face at the police station and his bite is definitely worse than his bark.

Ernie, a six-year-old male Czech shepherd, took up his duties a few months ago with Kalgoorlie police.

He replaced Ebony, the previous station dog, a German shepherd, who died from cancer.

The human part of the Goldfields dog team is Senior Constable Tom Habbits, who picked up Ernie from Perth in April.

"Ebony was quite a young dog, just five years old, so it was a shock to find out she was sick," he said.

Sen. Const. Habbits and Ebony had been together since she was 16 months old and they shared a close bond.

Police dogs live and work with their handler, becoming a part of their family.

"Ernie came from Perth and was a fully trained police dog," he said.

"His previous handler was leaving the section and so Ernie needed a new handler.

"I went down to get him and together we did a three-week conversion course to basically get used to each other.

"He was already trained and so was I, so the main thing was building up the confidence for us to work with each other.

"With a dog like Ernie, we just need to expand his knowledge base, because the training is already there."

Like Ebony before him, Ernie lives with Tom and his family, and he goes to work with his master each day.

Their work is often in the evening.

"That is when most offences occur and also when the dog performs better because there are less people around at night to contaminate the scene," he said.

"Often the only ones about are offenders or people intent on mischief.

"Sometimes we will walk around areas where we know crimes have been occurring.

"Ernie, like most police dogs, is very effective at solving and preventing crime.

"He has been involved in a lot of operational police work.

"Recently he found a burglar hiding in the bedroom of a house."

Ernie's personality is that of a gentle giant, however, his size and strength mean it is an unlucky criminal who garners his attention.

"I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of him," Tom said.

"They are not socialised, friendly animals and we avoid situations where they mix with other dogs.

"They are a very effective tool and their use is growing in forces all over the world."

Tom was a policeman with the Avon and Somerset Constabulary, one of 53 police forces in the UK.