Greater Manchester Police recently (GMP) welcomed eight new dog handlers and dogs to the Tactical Dog Unit (TDU), with one of the pairings PC Williams and PD Daisy.
Despite her recent role change, PC Williams is no stranger to GMP, having been an officer for five-and-a-half-years. She joined the TDU from the Operation Venture team, the force’s answer to the threat of serious violence and knife crime, while also previously working as a Response officer in Trafford.
PC Williams and PD Daisy, an 18-month-old German Shephard, became operational in December 2024 after passing a 13-week course and are one of only four all-female pairings in the force’s TDU.
In the first week of their course, the duo were paired together, with PC Williams enjoying every moment so far.
“I love to police proactively, in terms of working off intelligence the public provide and other officers,” PC Williams said. “I like to find my own jobs and see what comes of it, and to do that with a four-legged best mate is a dream come true.”
Their chemistry has allowed them to tackle crime across Greater Manchester. One significant incident led to PD Daisy locating a suspect in a garden following a successful track.
“She [Daisy] started tracking straight away from the driver’s door,” PC Williams said. “She took me up an alleyway and then into a courtyard where she located some property. I was so made up for her, so proud of her.
“We then continued to a main road, and she took me into some gardens, then straight away indicated that she wanted to go over a garden fence.”
Once PD Daisy signalled to PC Williams, she was lifted over the fence. That’s when the reward came.
“Straight away she found someone,” PC Williams said. “He’s hid himself under a fallen fence panel and literally only his foot was out, and she fired up lovely.
A police dog has many traits that are developed further through training and on-the-job experience.
However, one attribute that might go under the radar is their ability to switch on and off in their working and home environment.
“For Daisy, in comparison to being at home, being at work is a completely different dog,” PC Williams said. “At home, she’s lovely on walks, we go hiking all the time. She’s in the kennel and just as quiet as anything. She’s lovely, she’s so loving towards me, so affectionate.
“In work, she’s so excitable, so eager to go. As soon as the sirens go on, she starts howling in the back, so she just knows she’s going somewhere fun and that we’re hopefully going to get a result at the end of it.”
