FOI 413-2025 / Apr 2025 / Dog attacks
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 413-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 8th April 2025 as follows:
I would like to request the following under the FOI Act for the years between and including 2019 and 2024.
- The number of out-of-control dog causing injury to a person or guide dog offences
- The number of these offences involving XL Bullies
- The number of dogs seized
- The number of these seizures involving XL Bullies
- The number of dogs destroyed
- The number of these destructions involving XL Bullies
Response:
Home Office offence code ‘8/21 – ‘Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in any place in England or Wales (whether or not a public place) injuring any person or assistance dog’, considers that a dog shall be regarded as dangerously out of control on any occasion on which there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person or assistance dog, whether or not it actually does so.
Where such an offence is recorded, there is no way of readily identifying from the crime recording system, the breed of dog involved, if it was seized and if it was destroyed.
In order to provide a response to the request it would be necessary to examine each and every 8/21 investigation on an individual basis, including any associated documents.
Even by looking at part of the time period requested during the period 1st February 2022 and 1st May 2024, a total of 669 such offences were recorded. At a conservative estimate of 5 minutes per log to review, this would equate to in excess of 55 hours of work and would therefore exceed the amount to which we are legally required to respond, i.e., the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. For Police forces in the UK, the "appropriate limit" is considered to be up to 18 hours of work on one request.
In accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please treat this letter as the Refusal Notice I am required to provide to you in respect of your request. Please note that if one part of a request exceeds the fees limit, then Section 12 applies to the whole request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request; however, due to the volume of records that would need to be examined, I am unable to suggest a way to revise your request into one that could be managed within the fees limit.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB