FOI 161/25 Dangerous Dogs

Enquiry Reference:  161- 25                                                                         

I write in connection with regards to your Freedom of Information request. Below is your request and our response.

1. Since 31st December 2023, how many incidents have you attending that have involved dangerous dogs of a banned breed type?

Answer

The volume of crimes recorded of 008/21 - Person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in public place injuring any person validated between 1^st January 2024 and 1^st March 2025 are as follows.

The MO was searched and comments for mention of the following words after looking up banned breeds in the UK.

Searches for XL and Bully, the results are below. This doesn’t mean they are this breed of dog, it’s purely what has been added to the MO.

Both the crimes which have ‘bully’ in the MO mention they were bully type dogs.

2. Since 31st December 2023, how many dogs have you seized on suspicion of being a banned breed type?

3. Since December 31st 2023, how many banned breed types have died whilst being held in police approved kennels?

4. Since 31st December 2023, how many banned breed types have been destroyed at the scene of an incident by your firearms officers?

5. Have you seen an increase in incidents involving dangerous dogs of a banned breed, since the 31st December 2023?

6. The costs associated with policing banned breeds is said to have risen, the interim exemption scheme is available to all forces. would you be willing to implement this scheme, to help to reduce costs?

Please note that all statistical data supplied in relation to Freedom of Information requests is a snapshot of data held at the time the request was received by the Freedom of Information office and is subject to constant change/updates.

The Cleveland Police response to your request is unique and it should be noted that Police Forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures to capture and record data therefore responses from Cleveland Police should not be used as a comparison with any other force response you receive.

If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request, you have the right to request an independent internal review of your case under our review procedure. The Freedom of Information Code of Practice (see below link) states that a request for internal review should be made within 20 working days of the date on this response or 40 working days if extenuating circumstances to account for the delay can be evidenced. Public authorities are not obliged to accept internal reviews after this date.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-of-information-code-of-practice

Yours sincerely

Information Rights Decision Maker