Victoria Police Mounted Branch members senior constables Kara Eichhorn aboard Tribute, and Kat Vachlas on Jackson. Mounted police will increase their presence in Greater Dandenong as part of a four-month trial to localise the branch.By Shaun Inguanzo
DANDENONG police are using horses to spot drug crops and chase criminals through alleys too narrow for patrol cars.
The Victoria Police Mounted Branch is taking part in a four-month trial to localise the unit to Greater Dandenong, Casey and Frankston areas.
The Mounted Branch unit consists of six police members who will patrol streets atop specially trained horses that can stand their ground when confronted with large crowds and aggressive behaviour.
Senior Constable Kat Vachlas said police had organised to keep several horses at Cranbourne to make patrols across Greater Dandenong and Casey more frequent.
“We can pull over cars, do breath tests, hand out fines, we can even do some jobs for the van patrols,” she said.
“We can basically walk anywhere.”
She said advantages include the horses’ increased speed, which made it easier to search for criminals on the run, and the added height that helped police search for things other than criminals.
“We have got the height, and we can see into people’s backyards for drug crops,” she said.
“We can increase police presence on the street by going where the vans can not.”
Sen Const Vachlas said horses appealed to people’s emotions and made the mounted unit easy to approach.
“People find the horses more approachable, they often say hello to the horse rather than us.”
And residents can expect to see more of the mounted patrols with Sen Const Vachlas saying police will train young horses in the Dandenong CBD.
The four-month trial started earlier this month and police will continue to patrol Dandenong, Springvale, Noble Park and areas in Casey, and even Frankston.
