Victims of dog theft have bone to pick as prosecutions fall

Police accused of turning a blind eye as campaigners call for specific offence

POLICE have been accused of not treating dog thefts seriously enough because most of the animals are worth less than £500.

Campaigners are complaining that thieves are not being pursued by police because the crime is rated a mi- nor, low-level offence.

They cite research, published today, that shows dog-stealing has become a low-risk, high-reward crime because the value of the animals has to exceed £500 before any serious sanctions are imposed on thieves.

In 2018, only one in 100 thefts resulted in prosecution, according to figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws by Daniel Allen, an animal geographer at Keele University.

“Dog theft has a devastating impact on people, and is a known gateway to animal cruelty and extortion. Yet very few criminals get caught, let alone charged,” said Mr Allen.

His figures, from 39 of the 44 police forces, show prosecutions have fallen by 70 per cent since 2015 to just 20 last year, despite a 20 per cent rise in the number of thefts from 1,545 in 2015 to 1,849 in 2018.

“Some victims point to police inaction, others to the courts. But the reality is that the law informs police priorities and resources, and the sentencing of magistrates,” he added.

There is no specific offence of stealing a pet as there is with a car or bicycle. This means dogs are classed in the same way as lowvalue, inanimate objects under the 1968 Theft Act. As a result, offenders only face more serious penalties if the dog is worth more than £500. The maximum penalty for the theft of a dog worth less than £500 is two years in prison, but most offences result in a fine, often no more than £250.

Even organised crime gangs, involved in dog theft because of the profits in selling and breeding pedigree animals or designer crossbreeds, have escaped jail.

Members of a gang who stole 15 Cavalier King Charles spaniels from a Lincolnshire breeder received suspended jail sentences.

Debbie Matthews, of the charity Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance (Sampa), said: “All we want is for dog theft to be taken seriously. At the moment, it is like the theft of a laptop, TV, ring or any other inanimate object. But dogs are living creatures.

“We would like there to be a specific offence as there is for the theft of bikes or cars.”

Sampa is this month expected to trigger a parliamentary debate through a petition backed by more than 116,000 people calling for reform of the laws.

It wants sentencing guidelines in the Theft Act to be revised to “reclassify the theft of a pet to a specific crime in its own right”, or for the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to have such a provision.