An animal welfare campaigner is pushing for tougher jail terms for anyone convicted of injuring or killing a service dog in Northern Ireland.
The dogs in question undertake essential duties within the PSNI, the harbour and airport police services, and alongside the agencies called in by the PSNI and Fire Service for search, rescue and recovery purposes.
Bernadette Vassallo from Co Down, successfully drove a law change for service animals in Northern Ireland, during the current Stormont hiatus and had removed the motives of 'self defence' or 'fear' for lashing out at a service dog causing injury or danger.,
Now she says sentencing needs to match the crimes, calling for serious jail time starting at five years for those convicted of crimes against canine officers. And she is planning a further campaign to include sentencing of those convicted of abuse or neglect of pet dogs too.
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She is calling for:
- separate sentencing for service animals to be introduced under the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2021,
- removal of the ‘criminal damage’ aspect of injury to a service animal who are classed as ‘property’ not sentient beings,
- law enforcement canines legally recognised as working officers.
Recent injuries sustained by PSNI dogs include in April 2021, PD Daphne suffered serious injuries to a back leg and paw when she was hit by masonry thrown during street disorder. In 2022, PD Diesel kicked and laid on s handler detaining a suspect. A third police dog was punched, choked and thrown on the ground during an arrest and a fourth was punched on duty.
In a typical week police dogs in the PSNI assist in:
- 3 searches for missing persons.
- 19 searches for drugs, firearms, cash or explosive substances. These will be conducted by Specialist Search Dogs.
- 29 calls for assistance - these will be attended to by a General Purpose Dog and their Dog Handler.
The PSNI’s 61 canine officers are split into four main categories with some crossover. They are:
General Purpose Police Dogs are multi-disciplined canines who are trained to work under a variety of conditions. Their skills include searching for missing persons and tracking suspects from crime scenes and recovery of recently discarded articles of an evidential nature. They also protect their handler and other officers in dangerous situations and even the mere presence of these police dogs can also be enough to discourage bad behaviour.
Specialist Search Police Dogs are mostly Labradors, Springer and Cocker Spaniels who are trained to find specific scents. Their searching ability is economical and effective covering larger and inaccessible areas quicker than their human colleagues possibly could. These Police Dogs are capable of searching and locating illegal drugs, firearms, cash and are also used for the detection of various types of explosive substances.
Passive Scanning Drugs Police Dogs are trained to scent the air surrounding an individual person in a non-discriminatory manner and can detect illegal substances such as cannabis and amphetamines. Police Dog Harley and Jazz have supported a number of policing operations throughout Northern Ireland including the Tennent’s Vital event.
Victim Recovery or Crime Scene Dogs are trained to search for and detect human remains. They can be used to detect victims of drowning, whether they are a victim of crime, accidental or other. They are also trained to search crime scenes for particles of blood or articles with blood on them.
Ms Vassallo said each of the canine officers is vital to the effectiveness and efficiency of cases they are tasked to. Extensive research of service animal welfare legislation across the US, Canada, Australia and a number of EU Countries, revealed that it is a federal offence to injure or kill a service animal. Anyone convicted of purposely assaulting, maiming or killing a federal law enforcement animal such as police dogs and horses, face a minimum five year jail term up to 10 years with fines stretching from £10,000 to £20,000.
Now Ms Vassallo wants Northern Ireland’s sentencing to come into line with other western countries. She is calling for serious jail time for those convicted of crimes against canine officers.
- 5 years for injury of a service dog with a £10,000 fine
- 8 years jail term for serious injury, maiming or loss of service and a £15,000 fine
- 10 years jail term for the death of a service animal and a £20,000 fine
Ms Vassallo said: “The PSNI has 61 police dogs with a total expenditure of £105,485.40 for the last calendar year. This figure includes vet fees, food, equipment and consumables, so approximately £1,730 per police dog, quite a hefty sum which separates them from domestic pets.
“The Northern Ireland Prison Service has 42 prison dogs with a yearly expenditure of £20,000. To have a service dog injured and out of work creates financial hardship for the organisations in terms of vet fees and rehabilitation in order to get the dog back to work And the death of a service dog creates the loss of a valued, professional canine officer plus the cost of replacement and training in terms of time, money and effort."
Last year, with Stormont still in limbo, Ms Vassallo managed to drive a change of legislation that removed self defence or fear as a motive for lashing out at a service dog causing injury or danger.
She said: “There is little point in having our service animals protected under law without having sentencing to match the crimes against them. They should officially classed as working canine officers not domestic animals or pets.
“So I am calling for a separate section to be introduced under the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011 to show these law enforcement canines are not domestic dogs but working officers and should be recognised as such.
“Court sentencing for animal cruelty in Northern Ireland is abysmal with many convicts given probation, minimal fines, limited banning orders and sentences that are just weeks long in reality.
“There has never been a case of anyone being jailed for five years for severe animal cruelty that ends in death despite the tariff being available. The longest jail term recorded to date is a 30 month sentence, half to be served and half spent on licence.
“Northern Ireland should lead the change to honour and recognise the work our service animals carry out, by adding separate sentencing legislation which will support the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act (NI) 2022.
“The aim of the proposed legislative change is to ensure that the law demonstrates sufficient regard for the vital role that service dogs play in protecting the community in Northern Ireland.
“Police dogs help police save lives and solve crimes, they are a major part of law enforcement with unique skills and bravery. They are loyal to and protective of their police officer colleagues and are deemed an important and irreplaceable part of many police departments.
“All the service animals included in the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act (NI) 2022 each play a vital role in Northern Ireland. I am seeking public support as I work with Alex Easton, Independent MLA, for legislative change for service animals injured or killed on duty and I hope DogsLive and Belfast Live readers will help me by signing my petition to ensure the right thing is done for the animals who protect and serve our community.”
If you would like to sign the sentencing petition, you can click here and follow the link.
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