More than 400 dangerous dog attacks reported to Northamptonshire Police in 12 months, data reveals

The number of dangerous dog attacks and the number of dogs seized in Northamptonshire in a 12 month period has been revealed.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by this newspaper to Northamptonshire Police shows the data for the 12 month period from November 1, 2021 to October 21, 2022.

During that period, more than 400 dangerous dog attacks were reported and five arrests were made, however no charges were brought upon those who were taken into custody.

The data (for the period of November 1, 2021 to October 21, 2022)

402 dangerous dog attacks were reported to Northamptonshire Police

-Of these attacks, 40 were against other dogs and 399 were against humans (some of the attacks were against humans and dogs, hence the higher number)

61 dangerous dogs were seized by Northamptonshire Police

10 dogs were put down after being taken to kennels as a result of being seized.

-Northamptonshire Police says dogs taken directly to the vets are not recorded in a searchable format to enable the full figure to be revealed.

Five arrests were made as a result of dangerous dog attacks.

Zero of these arrests resulted in charges of owners of dogs. Three were summoned/postal requisition.

How many of the dangerous dog attacks happened in each area of the county

Northampton North East: 67

Daventry: 57

Kettering: 51

Wellingborough: 50

Northampton South West: 48

South Northamptonshire: 43

East Northamptonshire: 42

Corby: 35

Northampton central: seven

Out of force boundary: one

In the FOI response, Northamptonshire Police said: “Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that the data has been extracted from a number of data sources used by Northamptonshire Police for police purposes.

“The numerical data presented in this response is an unaudited snapshot of un-published data sourced from ‘live’ systems and is subject to the interpretation. The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of the relevance of data.”

What the RSPCA said about the data

RSPCA dog welfare expert Dr Samantha Gaines said: "It is very upsetting to see the number of dog bite incidents reported. The physical damage and psychological trauma for people and dogs caused by bites cannot be underestimated, although we would stress that these events are generally rare. There are an estimated 10 million dogs living in the UK and the vast majority live harmoniously with their families.

“The RSPCA has long been calling for a complete reform of dog control laws and strongly believe we need a different approach to keeping the public safe and the welfare of dogs protected.

“Any dog has the potential to bite and so we want to see effective legislation and enforcement which focuses on early intervention so that incidents can be prevented from occuring or escalating, but they must be evidence based and proportionate.”

The Government has established a steering group to look at how to reduce dog attacks and encourage responsible dog ownership and the RSPCA hopes to see recommendations from this being taken forward in 2023.

The RSPCA has online tools to help keep children and dogs happy as dogs are more likely to bite when they “feel threatened, anxious or in pain.”