Written question asked by David Davis (Conservative) on Monday, 21 February 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 8 March 2005. It was answered by Charles Clarke (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 March 2005 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) visual deterrent dogs, (b) guard dogs, (c) police dogs, (d) tracker dogs, (e) anti-terrorist dogs, (f) riot control dogs, (g) explosives detection dogs, (h) explosives and firearms detection dogs, (i) drug detection dogs, (j) cadaver detection dogs, (k) arson detection dogs, (l) anti-hijack dogs and (m) illegal immigrant detection dogs have been employed on Her Majesty's Service in each year since 1997.

Answer: David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) visual deterrent dogs, (b) guard dogs, (c) police dogs, (d) tracker dogs, (e) anti-terrorist dogs, (f) riot control dogs, (g) explosives detection dogs, (h) explosives and firearms detection dogs, (i) drug detection dogs, (j) cadaver detection dogs, (k) arson detection dogs, (l) anti-hijack dogs and (m) illegal immigrant detection dogs have been employed on Her Majesty's Service in each year since 1997. [217741] Mr. Charles Clarke: I understand from the Association of Chief Police Officers that there were 2,003 active police dogs as at December 2004. It is not possible to break down this figure to the level of detail requested. Police dogs are not necessarily trained for one purpose and are able to perform more than one activity. Prior to 2004, data on the number of active police dogs was not collected.

Secondary information