FOI 799/25

REQUEST

For the period: 1st January 2024 to 31 December 2024

1. How many suspected Section 1 dogs (per type) did your force seize under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (DDA).

1.2. For each S1 dog seized the average length of time between seizure and court hearing.

1.3. For each S1 dog seized the cost per day per dog for kennelling.

2. The number of dogs seized as suspected prohibited types, deemed by the courts as being of each of the five different banned types Pit Bull Terrier Dogo Argentino Japanese Tosa Fila Brasileiro American Bully XL .
3. How many Section 3 offences were taken to court?

3.1 of these how many were Section 3 offences including a dog of a type proscribed under Section 1 of the DDA?

3.2  For each dog involved in a Section 3 offence, what was their breed or type?

4.How many dogs were seized for S1 offences and euthanised

4.1 how many of those were each of the four banned types Pit Bull Terrier Dogo Argentino Japanese Tosa Fila Brasileiro American Bully XL

RESPONSE

We consulted with our Specialist Operations Department who have advised that there would be no effective search that could be carried out that would effectively answer questions 2, 3 and 3.1.

The data you have requested is not routinely collated in the format that would easily answer your query, therefore, to accurately answer your request we would need to individually interrogate all occurrences recorded under the HO (Home Office) codes:

111/12/N/BREEDING FIGHTING DO: Breeding fighting dog 

111/14/N/GIVING A FIGHTING DO: Giving a fighting dog 

111/17/N/DD91013: Possess / have custody of a fighting dog 

8N/8/21: Owner or Person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in any place in England or Wales (whether or not a public place) injuring any person or assistance dog.

This search yielded 9022 results for the time frame specified.

Whilst I cannot quantify exactly how long this would take it would most certainly exceed the 18 hours stipulated by the regulations to provide the data requested.

It is estimated that the cost of providing you with the information is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e., the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the "appropriate level" as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.

In the case of the police service, the appropriate limit is £450 which has been calculated to equate to a total of 18 hours of work.

If any part of the request exceeds the fees limit, then Section 12 applies to the whole request.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a refusal notice.

Excess cost removes the forces obligation under the Freedom of Information Act, however under Section 16 – Duty to provide advice and assistance, an authority is required to offer an applicant the opportunity to redefine their request

within the cost limit. If you were to remove Q’s 2, 3 and 3.1 we may be able to assist with the remainder of your request.