what you think by taking our short survey, Four people have today (Wednesday 9 December) been charged with criminal damage after a statue of Edward Colston wa…, A wanted man who fled to Australia 25 years ago has been jailed at Grimsby Crown Court for multiple sex offences ag…. The Guideline was revised following changes to the Dangerous Dogs legislation made by the 2014 Act, which extended the law to cover attacks that occur on private property and introduced a new offence to cover attacks on assistance dogs. The prosecution is nonetheless required to prove that an act or omission by the defendant, with or without fault, to more than a minimal degree, caused or permitted the dog to be dangerously out of control; Parliament did not intend to render the dog owner absolutely liable in all circumstances for the dog being dangerously out of control, or to create an offence without regard to the ability of the owner, or someone to whom he had entrusted responsibility, to take and keep control of the animal; there must be some causal connection between having control of the dog and the prohibited state of affairs that has arisen (see R v Robinson-Pierre [2014] 1 Cr App R 22, DA). The Court held that the key to the scope of the exemption lay in the concept of ‘being used’. Where the dog is used in the commission of any offence, it is subject to forfeiture by the courts under section 143 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. ‘Transfer of ‘keepership’ of prohibited typed dogs’ (September 2016) sets out DEFRA’s interpretation of the legislation about this matter, and identifies considerations for the court. Dogs Act 1871 [5 other Acts called Dogs Act] Section Mentions House Date; METROPOLIS—THE POLICE—CAPTURE OF DOGS IN THE STREETS. Issues about the identification / type of dog should be identified at the first hearing. A dog shall be regarded as dangerously out of control on any occasion on which there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person or assistance dog, whether or not it actually does so, (section 10(3) Dangerous Dogs Act 1991). or call 01227 469603 Prosecutors should note that Rafiq v DPP 161 JP 412 DC provides: If there is a bite without reasonable apprehension immediately before it, the use of the word ‘any occasion’ used in the interpretation of ‘dangerously out of control’ is sufficient to impose liability. Most police forces have a trained Dog Legislation Officer (DLO) or an officer trained in dog-related legislation with a good knowledge of the identification of the prohibited types of dogs. List. Under the 2015 Order the substitution of a person in charge of an exempted dog is only permitted if the owner or person dies or is seriously ill. A failure to comply with the procedure set out in the 2015 Order may result in an offence being committed as the prohibited dog will not be exempt. Cooper & Co Solicitors, The Old Boiler House, Menzies Road, Whitfield, Dover, Kent, CT16 2HQ. Prosecutors should not prejudge the outcome of a trial where there is conflicting expert evidence in relation to the identification of the type of dog. Breach of an Order made under section 2 of the Dogs Act 1871 is a criminal offence under section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1989. This exemption does not apply to dog attacks on trespassers in gardens, driveways or outbuildings. Prosecutors should be mindful of this case when considering cases involving dog attacks on animals smaller than itself. Dogs Act 1871 . 3.1 Membership of Dogs ACT. Section 2 requires that the owner of the dog is brought before a magistrates’ court on a complaint. The lower standard of proof of such an application must be balanced against the following factors: Prosecutors should note the ruling in Briscoe v Shattock [1998] EWHC Admin 929, in which the meaning of ‘dangerousness’ equates to the dog’s disposition rather than its actions. If a dog is factually deemed to be acting in a way that could be termed ‘dangerously out of control’, for example attacking livestock, a prosecution may still be brought. Regulation 10 provides for reporting of adverse reactions to, and migration of, microchips and reporting of microchip failures. The High Court has decided that for a dog to be a pit bull type, it must have a substantial number or most of the physical characteristics of a pit bull terrier. Acceptable Behaviour Contracts . the Police have no power to seize a dog pending proceedings. Prosecutors should apply for compensation for the police for the kennelling costs (section 4(4)(b) and section 4A(6) of the 1991 Act). Prosecutors should be aware that the purpose of a CDO is to allow a person to keep their dog where it is deemed not to constitute a danger to public safety; the purpose is not to allow an ‘innocent’ prohibited dog to live. There is no power to make a control or destruction order. government's services and In such cases, the police should be requested to provide a victim personal statement. The prosecutor must be able to assist the court to reach the correct sentence by providing details of the offence (including the Victim Personal Statement), relevant authorities, and drawing attention to the Sentencing Council Guidelines. In R v PY [2019] EWCA Crim 17 the defendant was a police constable with a police dog. . Regulation 8 requires a new keeper to update the information on the database on the transfer of keepership and prevents a dog from being transferred to a new keeper until it has been micro-chipped. It cannot extend to the future.”. Sansom v Chief Constable of Kent 1981 provides that it was in the nature of dogs to chase, wound and kill other small animals. Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 prohibits 4 types of dog namely: the Pit Bull Terrier, the Japanese Tosa, the Fila Braziliero and the Dogo Argentino. The Crown Prosecution Service As a general principle, lower levels of culpability and risk would be unlikely to lead to a prosecution, whereas higher level of blameworthiness and danger to the public would be more likely to lead to a prosecution. The defence may try to suggest to the Court that a prohibited type dog can be re-homed with someone other than the owner of the dog or a person factually in charge of it where that person would not otherwise be assessed as a ‘fit and proper’ person to be charge of the dog. Part 3 – Memberships. Where a prosecution is being pursued, consideration should be given to applying for a section 2 Order under the Dogs Act 1871 and staying it pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Prosecutors should note that section 2 proceedings are against the owner of the dog as opposed to someone in charge of the dog at the time of the incident. An action under the 1871 act is civil - ie the parents of the boy would have to bring the case, and is heard by Magistrates. As a consequence of Webb, a sentencing court should still not be considering to rehome the dog with any person who has not already established sufficient contact with the animal to be considered someone who ‘for the time being is in charge of the dog’. NOTES . The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' court under Section 2 of the Dogs Act 1871, within Wales police force areas, from 1997 to 2014 (the latest available), can be viewed in table 1. Section two of the Dogs Act refers to a dog that is dangerous and not kept under proper control and can result in a control order (with or without conditions attached) or destruction of the dog. Where the police are notified of a crime involving an attack on an assistance dog, the police will identify the victim as ‘vulnerable’, in accordance with the Victims’ Code of Practice. Dogs Act 1871 If a dog is shown to be dangerous, then proceedings could be issued under Section 2 of the Dogs Act 1871. The facts of a breach may be brought to the court’s attention in the event of further offences under the 1991 Act or such failures may be dealt with by way of contempt proceedings which do not provide any power with regard to the dog, (section 63 Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980). The defence should only succeed where there is evidence that the owner had for the time being divested himself or responsibility in favour of an identifiable person: R v Huddart [1999] 2 Archbold News 1, CA. What safety precautions were ordinarily in place in the home; i.e. Section 10(3) of the Act provides an exemption in any case in which the dog is being used for a lawful purpose by a constable or a person in the service of the Crown. These Regulations provide for the compulsory micro-chipping of dogs and the recording of each dog’s identity and its keeper’s contact details on a database. Where the defence seek an adjournment to rehome the dog, it may be appropriate for the prosecutor to request the defence to put forward names of persons who have the necessary level of contact at the earliest opportunity, whether or not those persons at the time of the adjournment have agreed to take the animal. 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