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Dog Fouling

Answer

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts in England for offences under section 3 of the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, from 2005 to 2009 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.Figures are presented for police force area in England as data held on the Ministry of Justice's Court Proceedings Database are not available at local authority area level.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) advise that records on fixed penalty fines for the offence of dog fouling are not held centrally and would need to be obtained from each separate local authority.Court proceedings data for 2010 are planned for publication in spring 2011.

Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under section 3 of the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, by police force area, England, 2005-09¹, ², ³
Police force area	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Avon and Somerset	11	11	5	7	5
Bedfordshire	2	—	—	—	—
Cambridgeshire	—	—	3	1	1
Cheshire	5	1	3	2	1
Cleveland	25	18	43	29	53
Cumbria	13	17	12	9	12
Derbyshire	13	14	11	9	6
Devon and Cornwall	—	3	7	8	7
Dorset	—	4	2	1	4
Durham	—	—	3	16	38
Essex	12	2	1	4	4
Gloucestershire	1	—	1	3	1
Greater Manchester	132	92	59	19	26
Hampshire	1	3	1	20	8
Hertfordshire	1	1	2	—	—
Humberside	—	—	2	—	1
Kent	—	—	1	16	24
Lancashire	37	19	27	27	59
Leicestershire	1	2	2	2	3
Lincolnshire	9	6	3	3	4
Merseyside	27	20	11	106	195
Metropolitan Police	47	49	25	48	29
Norfolk	—	3	—	—	1
North Yorkshire	3	5	7	3	4
Northamptonshire	5	2	1	6	6
Northumbria	48	59	57	50	61
Nottinghamshire	2	1	1	2	10
South Yorkshire	18	17	23	13	4
Staffordshire	—	—	—	3	1
Suffolk	3	—	—	—	—
Surrey	—	—	1	—	1
Sussex	—	1	1	2	15
Thames Valley	2	—	—	1	4
Warwickshire	1	1	1	—	2
West Mercia	—	1	1	1	1
West Midlands	2	10	2	4	8
West Yorkshire	7	6	4	14	26
Total	428	368	323	429	625
¹ The figures given in the table 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 it 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 data systems generated by the courts and police forces. 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.
³ Only those police force areas are shown where data have been reported.
Source:
Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

26516; 519 c492-4W

Session

2010-12

Subjects

Dogs Litter

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

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