COMMUNITY TRAINING
ENHANCING DOG SAFETY: A COMMUNITY-FOCUSED INITIATIVE
For the last two years, PC Paul Croft has worked to raise awareness and improve investigative standards around dangerous dog offences and related legislation to frontline response officers, neighbourhood policing officers and PCSOs
the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and Section 2 Dogs Act 1871). I realised disposal method rates could be improved by using Community Resolutions (CR) and Community Protection Warnings (CPW) with a focus on education to improve the knowledge and skills of the owner to prevent further incidences.
Offences range from low-level injuries to dog-
Working within the Chippenham Neighbourhood Policing Team at Wiltshire Police, PC Croft has created several educational guides and resources which now circulate on Wiltshire’s intranet. Here he discusses his journey to empower owners and educate children to prevent dog related incidents.
BLUE CROSS RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNER COURSE (RDOC) After witnessing an increase in dog- related offences, I conducted a review of crime recording stats from offences surrounding dangerous dogs (Section 3 of
54 | POLICE | JUNE | 2024
• Dog legislation – responsibilities and consequences
on-dog attacks, dogs worrying livestock and dogs out of control. The Responsible Dog Ownership Course (RDOC) is aimed towards low level, first-time offenders who commit offences under Section 3 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and Section 2 Dogs Act 1871 and puts an emphasis on empowering the dog owner through education as opposed to punishment. The offending dog owner attending the course will cover a wide range of topics on being a responsible dog owner, including:
• Dog safety and canine communication
• Exploring how dogs learn alongside the benefits of reward based training
support Control Orders)
Blue Cross supply the user of the RDOC with appropriate signposting and resources post course to continue the support into the future. This includes one-to-one virtual training and behaviour assessments with trusted behaviourists signposted by Blue Cross via the Animal Behaviour and Training Council. A lack of understanding and education by dog owners can be a significant factor when it comes to dog bites. It’s very unusual for a dog to simply attack and bite without provocation. Dog behaviour experts refer to the canine ladder of communication when it comes to dog bites, this is an 11-step ladder where a dog displays signs of anxiety or fear from simply yawning, lip smacking on level one to ‘tail tucking’ and ‘crouching’ at level six, all the way up to biting at level 11. Although this ladder is not always a linear journey of expressed behaviours, it allows the owner to understand escalation
• Dog control and management – including muzzling and types of leads (To
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
