Crackdown On Pet Crime Sends A Vital Message To All Crooks

‘Police need to be out on the beat and empowered to tackle crime’

- Stephen Pollard

The death last week in woodland near Kent of Julia James, a police community support officer, seemed initially to mystify the police. But they are now, it seems, working on a theory that a series of “dognappings” in the area might provide a clue.

If that does turn out to have a connection to her killing it would introduce a new and even more devastating dimension to a crime that has soared over the past year of lockdown.

It’s hardly surprising that many of us have bought a pet for the company – and that pet has often been a dog. Between March and September last year, 2.2 million people welcomed a dog into their family. That huge increase in demand has led to a corresponding increase in their price – with prices doubling, trebling, or even quadrupling depending on which research you believe.

That has made dogs even more valuable to thieves and the number being stolen has risen dramatically. There are no overall official figures available but last year 2,438 dogs were reported as stolen, according to figures from 37 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. That is 20 per cent higher than in 2019 when there were 2,026 reported thefts. The actual figures are likely to be far higher as not all stolen dogs are reported.