16LTB175 Dangerous Dog Offenders to get Harsher Sentences from July - CWU Bite-Back Campaign - Union Wins Case for Tougher Penalties

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16LTB175 Dangerous Dog Offenders to get Harsher Sentences from July - CWU Bite-Back Campaign - Union Wins Case for Tougher Penalties

No. 175/2016

Our Ref: P18/16

17th March 2016

Dangerous Dog Offenders to get Harsher Sentences from July - CWU "Bite-Back" Campaign - Union Wins Case for Tougher Penalties:

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to report that the Sentencing Council has today published new guidelines for how Magistrates and Crown Court Judges should sentence people convicted of dangerous dog act offences. The announcement is confirmation that another objective of the Union's "Bite-Back" Campaign has been fully achieved.

Today's announcement in effect means that dog owners who allow their dogs to bite Postal and Telecom workers and others and are subsequently convicted of dangerous dogs offences will face harsher punishments under new sentencing guidelines in England and Wales which will come into force from July.

The 2014 amendments to the Dangerous Dogs Act, importantly for CWU members, achieved some important changes. The law was extended to include attacks on private property, in situations where for example a postal worker is attacked on their round in someone’s front garden or a BT member is bitten whilst working on customer premises. It also raised the maximum jail sentence for a fatal dog attack from two years to 14 years and for injury dog attacks from two years to 5 years, as well as bringing in unlimited fines, compensation orders and dog ownership bans. Additionally, those who are already disqualified from owning a dog but caught with another dog in their possession will also face much tougher penalties.

The new court guidelines cover offences where a dog injures or kills a person, where it injures an assistance dog or where someone possesses a banned breed of dog.

The Council has introduced these guidelines following changes to dangerous dog offences legislation in 2014 which extended the law to cover attacks that occur on private property and introduced a new offence to cover attacks on assistance dogs. The legislation also made very significant increases to maximum sentences. For example, the maximum sentence for an offence where someone is killed increased from two to 14 years and for where someone is injured from two to five years.

The new guidelines aim to provide clear guidance to those issuing sentences, taking into account the changes to the law and ensuring a consistent approach to sentencing for these offences.

The increases in maximum sentences set by law have been reflected in the guidelines, so that they permit a much wider range of sentence lengths than the previous guidelines. Sentencing levels are likely to be higher than in the past, and magistrates and crown court judges will have to pass appropriate and proportionate sentences according to the seriousness of the offence.

The guidelines are designed to deal with a wide range of offending behaviour. For example, the guideline for a dog dangerously out of control where a person is injured covers situations which range from a nip causing a minor injury to a very serious attack causing life-changing injuries. The culpability of the offender can also vary between cases, with some owners deliberately training dogs to be aggressive and dangerous, while other offences may involve a momentary lapse of control over a dog by an otherwise responsible owner. These factors will be taken into account based on the evidence before the courts.

Consistent with the changes to the law, the guidelines apply to offences that occur on private property in addition to public places. They are aimed at helping ensure a consistent, broad range of sentences are given, depending on the seriousness of each offence, and encourage courts where appropriate to use their other powers to ban people from keeping dogs or to order them to pay compensation to victims.

The CWU can be proud of the fact that our concerted "Bite-Back" Campaign ultimately achieved significant changes contained in the new, strengthened Dangerous Dogs Laws across the UK, along with tougher sentences which were introduced in May 2014 in England and Wales and before that law changes were achieved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Union welcomes today's announcement regarding the guidance as it was always part of our "Bite-Back" campaign’s objectives to get tougher sentences which we achieved. The new guidance enables the courts to now fully use the new powers effectively.

The CWU sadly represents the largest group and number of dog attack victims in the UK with around 4000 members, Postal and Telecom workers, attacked every year. The impact on the victims and severity of injuries in many cases of dog attacks can be severe, traumatising and disabling for life. The sheer range of seriousness in dangerous dog cases is very considerable, so we welcome the fact that the new Sentencing Guidelines to Magistrates and Crown Court Judges now better reflects that and we hope it will ensure more consistency and penalties that fit the crime handed down by the courts who we hope will do their job more effectively in administering justice fairly for victims.

Our members, particularly in the Postal industry, are in the front line when it comes to dealing with the minority of customers who are irresponsible owners, whose dogs put them at risk of serious injury and even death whilst they are going about their jobs.

The main problem is not bad dogs, it's bad owners and it's important for irresponsible owners to preferably be targeted before their animals attack and injure people. We hope that the courts’ new powers will be an effective deterrent and we hope that ultimately there will be a reduction in the number of dangerous dog attacks on our members and the public at large and children in particular.

Following its publication today, the Sentencing Council Guideline will come into force in courts in England and Wales from July 2016.

The Union is pressing the rest of the UK to follow suit.

Attachment: Copy of Sentencing Council Guidelines on Dangerous Dogs Offences

Yours sincerely



Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

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LTB177/16 New Sentencing Guidelines for Dangerous Dog Offences

No. 177/2016

18th March 2016

Our Ref: P18/16

New Sentencing Guidelines for Dangerous Dog Offences

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues,

Further to LTB 175/2016, issued on 17th March 2016, those interested can watch the Chairman of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice Treacy, introduce the new dangerous dogs offences court sentencing guidelines in a two and a half minutes YouTube video Clip.

Please follow the link: https://youtu.be/zpg6-RN_3yc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As previously reported, the Sentencing Council has introduced revised guidelines for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of dangerous dog offences, following changes to the dangerous dogs act offences legislation in 2014 which came about as a direct result of the CWU ‘Bite-Back’ Campaign. The main change extended the law to cover attacks that occur on private property and brought in higher sentences as well as the introduction of control orders, new police seizure powers and the introduction of a new offence to cover attacks on guide dogs. The legislation made very significant increases to maximum sentences. For example, the maximum sentence for an offence where someone is killed increased from two to 14 years and for where someone is injured from two to five years. The guidelines will come into force in July 2016.

Full details of the guidelines can be found in LTB 175/2016.

Yours sincerely



Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer