FOI 58/25 Cat Theft

Enquiry Reference:  58 - 25                                                                                       

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

Following the introduction of the Pet Abduction Act 2024, police forces in England and Northern Ireland are now obliged to maintain data on the numbers of dogs and cats reported stolen in their respective areas.

In order to build a picture of what is happening as regards cat theft in particular, since 2015 I have been collating data using Freedom of Information requests from each police force across the UK. This data and our subsequent report (the Cat Theft Report 2022) helped inform the discussion as the Bill progressed through parliament. With a very few notable exceptions, most police forces have been very helpful and have consistently provided this information. I would therefore be grateful if you could complete my freedom of information request below:

1.     What were the total number of cat theft/abduction crimes in 2024?
         One – using abduction crime type only as too many and unreliable to use stolen.
2.     What was the outcome (charge/summons, community resolution, active investigation, evidential difficulties, no suspect identified) for each cat theft/abduction crime in 2024?
         16: Victim declines/withdraws support - named suspect identified
3.     Please list specific cat breed types with amounts (stolen/abducted in 2024) — or ‘breed unrecorded’ or ‘mixed breed’?
        Breed not recorded

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