Question reference: S6W-26628
- Date lodged: 2 April 2024
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Current status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 18 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the geographic coverage of police officers trained to handle dangerous dogs for the purposes of enforcing rules on XL Bully dogs.
Answer
As noted in my response to S6W-25097 on 16 February 2024, it is a matter for Police Scotland to consider the enforcement of the new safeguards in relation to XL Bully dogs and any operational issues that arise.
Every incident presented to Police Scotland is risk assessed. Incidents relating to dogs, including XL Bully dogs, follow the same process whereby the incident is assessed and then graded accordingly. This determines the response which includes working with partner agencies such as Dog Wardens and local vets where appropriate. In addition to working with partners, there are several tactical options at Police Scotland’s disposal dependent on the risk presented. This can involve the deployment of normal response officers, and/or specialist assets such as Dog Handlers, Operational Support Units, Specially Trained Officers (Taser) and Armed Response.
The Scottish Government is committed to ongoing engagement with Police Scotland, and other relevant stakeholders, in order to consider any issues, concerns, or barriers to effective implementation of the new safeguards in relation to XL Bully dogs.
The Scottish Government chairs a regular implementation forum with Police Scotland, local authorities and COSLA to collectively consider any operational/enforcement issues that arise.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .