Through their ongoing partnership with the Halton District School Board, Halton Police inquired if students from Gary Allan HS could build six special training boxes for the Police Dog Services Unit. Students and staff were thrilled to do so.
The boxes are used as training aides to help Halton Police build, develop, and maintain skills in police service dogs. They are built large enough to conceal a person inside and the dogs are taught how to search for the person and to indicate their presence to the handler through barking.
The boxes, completed this month, are four-feet by four-feet by four-feet, complete with doors, hinges, locks and scent slots. Halton Police supplied the lumber, which was recycled, and other necessary hardware.
To make the learning from this project even more enriching, Constable Mike Doggin visited the class to talk about the purpose of the canine unit and the value of creating these training boxes to help police perform their duties.
The T.R.E.X. Program is designed for students between the ages of 16-21 who are interested in an experiential approach to learning and acquiring practical skills for employment.
Teacher David Blonski said this project presented a lot of opportunities for students to learn about different construction styles and design. This included creating working drawings for a variety of construction projects, demonstrating appropriate technical skills, including the safe use of construction tools, equipment and materials, and practicing safe and accurate techniques for assembling construction projects.
“Students gained first-hand experience of designing and building a project from start to finish,” he says. “It also inspired two of our students to further pursue a new found passion through the dual credit program at Sheridan College.”
Doggin says when Halton Police determined it needed new canine boxes, connecting with the HDSB made sense.
“We thought that partnering with one of the high schools in the region would be a good opportunity to help continue developing a positive relationship with students and would also provide them with some exposure to a side of policing that few of them have likely experienced,” he says. “These students will know they have made a significant contribution to the current and future training of our police service dogs. I don’t think we could have asked for a better finished product.”
"When I was approached to participate in this project, I was grateful for the opportunity," says student Lucas James St. Amant. "The motivation and skills that I learned throughout this time period encouraged me to follow a career path in construction."
Students have been invited to watch a training session involving the police service dogs in the spring.