Government to back Finn’s Law punishments for attacks on police dogs
New legislation could be brought in as early as next year, which could also apply to other working animals such as guide dogs or those working alongside firefighters
THOSE who attack police dogs and horses are set to face tougher sentences as Policing Minister Brandon Lewis hopes to implement "Finn's Law".
New legislation could be brought in as early as next year, which could also apply to other working animals such as guide dogs or those working alongside firefighters.
More than 120,000 people have signed a petition backing Finn's Law.
The law is named after a Hertfordshire police dog who needed surgery after being stabbed several times while chasing an armed suspect.
Attackers are prosecuted for causing criminal damage, but campaigners want police dogs and horses to be given the same status as injured officers.
Mr Lewis, speaking at a Westminster Hall debate on the petition, said it was now a matter of working out how best to achieve these tougher sentences.
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Mr Lewis said: "None of us think of police animals as just equipment. They are an important part of the job.
"It doesn't seem to me to properly convey the respect and gratitude that we do and should feel for the animals involved, and for their contribution to law enforcement, and indeed public safety more widely.
"That is why I have written to my ministerial colleagues at the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to explore whether there is more that we can do in law to offer a more appropriate protection to working animals."
He said it was “unlikely” that any changes could be tagged onto the Police and Crime Bill, which is currently going through the Lords.
Mr Lewis added: “There is some work to do around exactly how we deal with this issue, about making sure that the penalties, which are severe and do match the severity of penalties elsewhere in the world, that are linked to the Criminal Damage Act are actually applicable to animals, in way that is appropriate and correct in language, as well as the ability to actually prosecute in that way.
“If there is a need for legislative change, I will look at opportunities to do that in 2017.”
