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Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Answer

It is not possible to provide clear figures on the numbers of people who have had their dogs added to the Index of Exempted Dogs as a result of being prosecuted under section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. In addition to people who are prosecuted, there are those who have had their dogs added to the Index by way of a non-prosecution avenue (section 4B of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991—as amended, 1997).The following table shows the numbers of dogs added to the Index of Exempted Dogs between 2003 and 2007, inclusive.

	Number of Dogs processed by index	Certificates of exemption issued	Number certificate of exemption issued
2003	0	0	0
2004	6	6	0
2005	1	1	0
2006	6	6	0
2007	185	141	44

Information showing the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under section 1(3) of the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act in England and Wales from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.

Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and four guilty at all courts under section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, England and Wales 2003 to 2007¹, ²
	Offence description	Possession, without exemption, of a Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa or other designated fighting dog
	Section of the Act	S.1(3)
2003	Proceeded against	1
	Found guilty	1
2004	Proceeded against	5
	Found guilty	2
2005	Proceeded against	11
	Found guilty	7
2006	Proceeded against	8
	Found guilty	5
2007	Proceeded against	87
	Found guilty	62
¹ The number proceeded against and number found guilty statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
² Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative datasystems generated by police forces and the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Source:
Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.Data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

498 c1043-4W; 297282

Session

2008-09

Subjects

Dogs

Legislation

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk