No charges over any dog thefts in South Yorkshire in 2020
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Across last year, there were 82 reported dog thefts in South Yorkshire following a surge in puppy buying during the pandemic.
Now, research by dog welfare charity The Kennel Club claims that no one has ever been brought to justice or even charged in any of those cases, or any of the 271 cases total in all of Yorkshire and the Humber in that time.
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The charity further claims that in two thirds of South Yorkshire’s cases, no suspect was ever identified.
A third of cases did identify a suspect, but no action was taken due to “evidential difficulties”.
The charity has called the results a “jaw-dropping” failure by the Government and police forces to take action against a “heartbreaking” crime they say affected nearly 200 families a month in 2020.
A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said the force is “actively carrying out enquiries into all incidents reported in recent weeks”.
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The figures come 79 days after the Government’s Pet Theft Taskforce was established on May 8 to tackle the issue. Since then, another 508 dogs have reportedly been stolen.
The Kennel Club is calling for more transparent recording of pet theft on a central database so that underlying causes of dog theft can be tackled.
"Dog theft has devastating consequences for both the owners and the animals involved and it is quite frankly jaw dropping that 98 per cent of cases never result in a criminal charge and in more than half, no suspect is ever identified,” said The Kennel Club’s health executive Bill Lambert.
"Not only that but when a sentence is handed out it is often treated no more seriously than a petty crime, despite the fact that there is nothing ‘petty’ about pet theft. The low charge rates and the paltry sentences are an almost open invitation to criminals looking to target innocent dog owners.”
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The charity received data from 27 police forces which suggested only two per cent of all dog theft cases in the UK led to a suspect being charged.
Between July 2020 and March 2021, South Yorkshire Police began 63 investigations in which a dog was taken.
A spokeswoman said: “Any reports made to us are fully investigated with the aim of ensuring dogs are safely reunited with their owners. We absolutely understand the impact this type of crime has on victims and we know how important dogs are to their families.
A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said: “Any reports made to us are fully investigated with the aim of ensuring dogs are safely reunited with their owners. We absolutely understand the impact this type of crime has on victims and we know how important dogs are to their families.”