11 May 2000

Police Cruelty Collars are Outlawed

Pinch and electric collars are no longer considered part of the standard equipment for police dog handlers. Instead training will now focus on mutual respect and trust. A national police dog strategy has been launched by The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Under new animal welfare rules, police dogs will not be corrected using out dated methods such as pinch and electric collars, which cause considerable pain and suffing to the animal. Electric collars are capable of delivering up to 15,000 volts. Following the conviction of three dog handlers for cruelty in 1998 the RSPCA and National Canine Defence League (NCDL) have banned the rehoming of dogs to police forces. They now say they will reconsider the ban following the review of procedures. The Chief Constable of Lancashire and chairman of the ACPO Police Dog Sub-committee Pauline Clare said "Throughout the review we have worked closely with the RSPCA, the NCDL and other bodies and are pleased that they are able to support our new strategy." A pilot project has been set up by the Lancashire Police Force which allows members of the public to visit their 75 dogs. Even though the scheme has only been running for six months it is already considered to be a success. Welfare charilties are hoping the scheme will be adopted nationwide. In 1914 official authority was granted for 172 constables in the Metropolitan (London) Police to take their own dogs on patrol with them, a motley crew of sheepdogs, retrievers, collies, terriers, spaniels, mongrels and even one Pomeranian. In 1908, the North Eastern Railway police who used Airedales to put a stop to theft from the docks in Hull formed the first recognised UK Police Dog Section. The first dog training school was setup in 1934 in Washwater, near Newbury. Today there are over 2500 police dogs on active duty across the country.