Paul Mitchinson

As a Tobacco dog handler I trained my dog dog George from a puppy as a proactive search dog. We qualified in July 2025, since then I have carried out numerous searches supporting Trading standards. As a result We have located thousands of illegal Tobacco products hidden in properties and vehicles.

I have also trained my current Passive drugs dog Willow, we have now been Licenced by NASDU level3 Passive drugs dog detection on 11/02/26.

Since my retirement from Northants Police I sourced suitable dogs for proactive detection . I would train the dogs on a base odour (kong). The dogs would be trained to search and indicate on the found item in all types of environments, I would make sure the dogs were environmentally sound.

The trained dogs would the be sold, I have sold dogs to Police , Prison and private companies.

During my 27 years as a Police Officer I Fulfilled many roles.

1994-1999 Response officer dealing with emergency calls and dealing with vulnerable people in need of immediate intervention and assistance.

• Provided security at large-scale events, minimising potential threats effectively such a Silverstone.
• Collaborated closely with colleagues in multi-agency task forces to resolve cases.
• Prepared detailed case reports for use in court proceedings.

1999-2005 Firearms officer, this role was dealing with planned and spontaneous firearms of threats to life situations. This was a high risk and important role where you had to use all of your quick thinking and communication skills to deal with life threatening situations.

• Performed risk assessments prior to executing search warrants, ensured safety.

2005-2016 Roads Policing officer, this role was dealing with major roads in our county reducing serious injury and fatal accidents. During this role I became a family liaison officer where I would deal with the families who had lost a loved one in an accident.

• Upheld high ethical standards when dealing with sensitive information.

2016-2021 Neighbourhood Officer, this role was community based. This gave me the ability to work with members of the public directly to try and make their lives better where they live. I was very successful in helping farmers in rural areas. I was deployed to a town to deal with the guns and gangs issue, I found numerous Cannabis factories and took a number of drug dealers from the streets making it a safer place to live for other residents. As a result of the work I did in my career i was awarded the Queens Police medal, I attended my investiture at Windsor Castle with Prince William issuing me with the award.

In 1982 I started my Plumbing career as an apprentice, I worked on mainly new build houses in Milton Keynes. I specialised later on in my career in lead work, the was used in weathering various roofs in the area. I also used to work on refurbishment work , Mainly in Bedford.