Wednesday 25 January 2012

Forcing The Police To Act In The Internet Age…

A woman is urging the police to take action after her puppy was killed by another dog.

Kate Nutbourne, 19, from Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, was walking her 12-week-old cockapoo on Appley beach when it was attacked by a "muscular" dog.

She said: "All of a sudden it went for him, crushed his skull, shook him like a rabbit and broke his neck."

On Friday, a police spokeswoman said it was still an open investigation.
Is that open as in ‘we’re actively pursing it’ or open as in ‘well, technically, we haven’t got around to binning it just yet’..?
She added: "While we can't do anything under section three of Dangerous Dogs Act, because there wasn't an attack on a human, we are taking statements from the dog owners to see exactly what happened and establish whether there was an offence under any other part of the act."
Which didn’t seem to be a concern of the first responders:
Ms Nutbourne said when she first reported the attack on Wednesday afternoon she was told there was nothing that could be done about a dog on dog attack even though the owner of the two year-old Staffordshire bull terrier was standing close by and had refused to put his animal on a lead.

"The only real advice we've been given is that we'll have to make a private prosecution, which we can't afford to do," she added.

"It makes me really angry."
Yes, me too. Luckily, there’s a happy ending, of sorts:
A dog which killed a puppy on a beach on the Isle of Wight has been put down, police have confirmed.
The beast was – apparently – voluntarily surrendered to police.
Insp Kelvin Shipp, from Ryde police, said: "I have visited the puppy's owners and they are happy with our actions.

"We have been actively pursuing lines of inquiry since Wednesday and our inquiries are continuing to establish if any further offences have been committed."
Possibly, though, not those committed by the offending dog owner!
Police have also refuted reports in the media and on social media sites claiming they had not taken action.
Well, well, well…

Truth hurts, doesn’t it? Initially, you didn’t take any action, preferring to fob off the injured party with references to civil litigation.

It was only when she started up an internet campaign and started getting media attention that you sprang into action. So don't be surprised when this starts happening more and more...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what you mean. Whoever shouts the loudest gets the attention now.
If that came to me, a quick statement off the Injured Party, arrange for them to identify the dog responsible, quick interview of the owner and report for summons. Up to the court to decide then.
Sadly, this falls into the area that doesn't hit a target for us. You can end up spending a couple of days dealing witha simple job like this due to procedure and paperwork, and it doesn't show up to the bosses you have been reducing crime.
This kind of thing was going to be taken over by local authorities a few years ago but we have somehow still kept hold of it.
If people were responsible, it wouldn't become a police matter (unrealistic i know)but if a my dog escaped and did something like that, it would be put down and i would compensate the owner. Acivil action is also possible. If burglars, drug dealers etc are not getting sent to prison, it is unlikely that this instance would result in anything of note.

Captain Haddock said...

WTF is a "cockapoo" ?

And when it grows up (but not this particular one) will it be able to sit on its perch & shout out "The vicar's a wanker " ? ... ;)

Dunno about a "cockapoo" .. sounds more like a crock o' shit ..

jaded said...

Can't disagree in the slightest with anonymous above.

No matter how crap the allegation is I take statements and hand them over to the CPS with a big bow attached.They can make the decision.If they get it wrong then it's not my fault.

You can barely wipe your arse in the police without CPS permission. I wonder who benefits from this? If you look at most politicians,especially Labour,a huge amount of them were trained in law.

Mick Turatian said...

WTF is a "cockapoo" ?

I think that means it's just not been connected up correctly. A bit like an Arsopiss, really.

David Gillies said...

Ryde beach used to be very safe for dogs and Appley's one of the nicest stretches. In days gone by the IOW was much more laid back and, dare I say it, genteel, but the riff-raff have been creeping in over the last few years.

JuliaM said...

"Whoever shouts the loudest gets the attention now."

Indeed! Closer to home, this drew a personal call from an Inspector desperate to rescue the reputation of his Farce.

"WTF is a "cockapoo" ?"

The latest 'designer pet' craze is crossbreeds. Or as most people call them, 'mongrels'.

"...but the riff-raff have been creeping in over the last few years."

Sadly, that can be said about so very many places now..

Anonymous said...

"A bit like an Arsopiss, really."

The bedrock of wit for a future Mick limerick.

Captain Haddock said...

"WTF is a "cockapoo" ?"

The latest 'designer pet' craze is crossbreeds. Or as most people call them, 'mongrels'.

Ahh .. if only she'd called it a "Bitzer" (bits o' this & bits o' that).. I'd have understood immediately .. ;)

Anonymous said...

Section 2 of the dogs act 1871. Fits the allegation perfectly.