Latest news with #Hobrough
South Wales Argus
18 hours ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Jane Mudd responds to Gwent Police inspection report
Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Mudd, who was elected to the post last year, said the report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service, has recognised improvements since the force's last inspection in 2021/22. The inspector's latest report, covering the period 2023 to 2025, found Gwent Police needs to improve how it investigates crime and protects vulnerable people. It has also laid out pressures on the service with police sergeants having high case loads of ongoing investigations, leads in criminal inquiries being missed and PCSOs being sent to deal with incidents they aren't trained for. Ms Mudd said she was also confident Chief Constable Mark Hobrough's reforms, implemented from January after he took over last December, to move away from a local area approach to a leadership model based on the police's functions will prove successful. The inspectors said it is too early to judge the outcomes of the reform but also said the force leadership needs to improve how it communicates those changes to officers. Ms Mudd said: 'As the report points out, Gwent Police's senior leadership team has changed substantially over the last year. I appointed Chief Constable Hobrough in December 2024 and he has implemented a new operating model for Gwent Police which I am confident is driving improvements across the force. 'I am seeing positive progress made against the priorities in my Police, Crime and Justice Plan, and a greater emphasis on putting victims first, which I know is incredibly important for our residents. 'To ensure continued improvement I have increased and strengthened the scrutiny work that my office and I undertake. This is driving greater accountability, improved transparency and provides me with continued assurance and confidence that Gwent Police is improving its response to the issues that matter most to our residents.' The report stated Gwent Police's external scrutiny panels for stop and search and use of force, run in partnership with the commissioner's office, hadn't met often enough and there was no clear plan to increase frequency of meetings. It was also noted the panel isn't mentioned on the force website. Panels include representatives of the commissioner's office, senior Gwent police leaders, independent advisory group members and partner agencies, such as the Youth Offending Service, but inspectors said meetings don't include any lay members of the public or those with 'lived experience of being searched or of having force used upon them, such as young people'. Chief Constable Hobrough said the force has, over the past six months, put in place steps to address the areas highlighted as requiring improvement in the report which isn't directly comparable to the 2021//22 publication due to changes in performance measures.
The Independent
31-01-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Police should get funding for ‘cost pressure' of XL Bully ban
The policing minister said she was aware of the 'cost pressure' on police the XL bully ban had caused and wants to make sure forces get the funding to enforce it. Police chiefs have warned that enforcing a ban on XL bully dogs is a burden on policing, with millions of pounds spent on veterinary bills and kennelling for confiscated dogs. 'This has been raised with me, actually, a few times, and it's certainly something that I'm looking at and working with my colleagues in Defra on,' policing minister Dame Diana Johnson told LBC. 'But I recognise that's another cost pressure for police forces, so absolutely I understand that. 'And as the police minister, I'm obviously keen to make sure that, you know, the police get the funding they need for these things that we're asking them to do, because this is obviously quite a new development over the last few years.' Since February, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets will be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted. The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said this week that kennel spaces were 'reaching capacity', with costs 'increasing by the day'. The policing body said veterinary bills and the cost of kennelling banned dog breeds had risen from £4 million in 2018 to more than £11 million between February and September 2024, adding it can cost around £1,000 a month to keep an XL bully in kennels. The NPCC said the figure is expected 'to rise to as much as £25 million' for the period from February 2024 to April 2025 – representing a predicted 500% increase in police costs from 2018. As well as the XL bully, other banned types of dog under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 include the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Brasileiro. Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, the NPCC's lead for dangerous dogs, said the ban was placing 'a huge burden on policing'. He called for Government support to cope with the demand the ban has placed on police resources. Mr Hobrough said conversations with Defra were ongoing but there was no formal agreement about providing additional funding to account for the demand. Police forces seized 4,586 suspected Section 1 banned dogs throughout England and Wales between February and September 2024. According to the NPCC, there were 120 dog liaison officers across England and Wales before the ban, with 100 subsequently trained, and a further 40 to be trained. The NPCC said around £560,000 had been spent by police forces on staff overtime between February and September last year in relation to dogs. Mr Hobrough said alternative methods such as out of court disposals would support police as court backlogs increase the burden. The NPCC said forces in England and Wales seized and euthanised 848 dogs between February and September 2024 at an estimated cost of £340,000. These were dogs which were surrendered to police by owners who had not complied with the ban, nor taken advantage of the compensation scheme.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police should get funding for ‘cost pressure' of XL Bully ban
The policing minister said she was aware of the 'cost pressure' on police the XL bully ban had caused and wants to make sure forces get the funding to enforce it. Police chiefs have warned that enforcing a ban on XL bully dogs is a burden on policing, with millions of pounds spent on veterinary bills and kennelling for confiscated dogs. 'This has been raised with me, actually, a few times, and it's certainly something that I'm looking at and working with my colleagues in Defra on,' policing minister Dame Diana Johnson told LBC. 'But I recognise that's another cost pressure for police forces, so absolutely I understand that. 'And as the police minister, I'm obviously keen to make sure that, you know, the police get the funding they need for these things that we're asking them to do, because this is obviously quite a new development over the last few years.' Since February, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets will be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted. The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said this week that kennel spaces were 'reaching capacity', with costs 'increasing by the day'. The policing body said veterinary bills and the cost of kennelling banned dog breeds had risen from £4 million in 2018 to more than £11 million between February and September 2024, adding it can cost around £1,000 a month to keep an XL bully in kennels. The NPCC said the figure is expected 'to rise to as much as £25 million' for the period from February 2024 to April 2025 – representing a predicted 500% increase in police costs from 2018. As well as the XL bully, other banned types of dog under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 include the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Brasileiro. Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, the NPCC's lead for dangerous dogs, said the ban was placing 'a huge burden on policing'. He called for Government support to cope with the demand the ban has placed on police resources. Mr Hobrough said conversations with Defra were ongoing but there was no formal agreement about providing additional funding to account for the demand. Police forces seized 4,586 suspected Section 1 banned dogs throughout England and Wales between February and September 2024. According to the NPCC, there were 120 dog liaison officers across England and Wales before the ban, with 100 subsequently trained, and a further 40 to be trained. The NPCC said around £560,000 had been spent by police forces on staff overtime between February and September last year in relation to dogs. Mr Hobrough said alternative methods such as out of court disposals would support police as court backlogs increase the burden. The NPCC said forces in England and Wales seized and euthanised 848 dogs between February and September 2024 at an estimated cost of £340,000. These were dogs which were surrendered to police by owners who had not complied with the ban, nor taken advantage of the compensation scheme.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
XL bully ban a 'huge burden' on policing, chiefs say
Police enforcement of the ban on owning XL bully dogs is placing a "huge burden" on forces, police chiefs have said. The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said they are facing a "number of challenges in kennel capacity, resourcing and ever-mounting costs". The NPCC lead for dangerous dogs, Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, said kennelling costs and veterinary bills in England and Wales had risen from £4m in 2018 to more than £11m between February and September 2024 - during the first eight months of the ban. He added that by April this year, forces predict they could have spent £25m, a rise of 500%. The ban was introduced in England and Wales on 1 February 2024 following a number of attacks involving the dogs. Similar restrictions were also introduced in Scotland, while in Northern Ireland, XL bullies now have to be muzzled and kept on a lead in public. It is a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog where they are banned without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets will be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted. "Policing will uphold the government's decisions, and we'll act robustly to do so, but the bigger picture is a focus on responsible dog ownership," Mr Hobrough said. He said that while the force's response to the ban has "driven down" the number of dog attacks, "the demand has been and continues to be simply huge". "As of today we have not received any additional funding to account for this," he added. He said conversations were "ongoing" with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs but there had been no formal agreement on funding "to account for these additional demand factors". Since the XL bully ban, police forces have increased their kennel capacity by a third. But the NPCC said kennel spaces were "reaching capacity", with costs "increasing by the day". The policing body added that it can cost around £1,000 a month to keep an XL bully in a kennel. In total, between February and September 2024, police forces in England and Wales seized and euthanised 848 dogs at an estimated cost of £340,000, said the NPCC. It said these were dogs surrendered to the police by owners who had not complied with the ban, or not taken advantage of a compensation scheme. In the same time period, police seized a total of 4,586 dogs suspected of being banned, including XL bullies. So-called Section 1 dogs are banned in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and also include the American pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, Dogo Argentinos, and Fila Brazileiro. NPCC tactical lead Supt Patrick O'Hara said he did not think all XL bullies were automatically dangerous, but they had the "propensity" to be by their "sheer size and power". How dangerous are XL bullies and how does the ban work?
BBC News
29-01-2025
- BBC News
XL bully dog ban a 'huge burden' on policing, chiefs say
Police enforcement of the ban on owning XL bully dogs is placing a "huge burden" on forces, police chiefs have National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said they are facing a "number of challenges in kennel capacity, resourcing and ever-mounting costs".The NPCC lead for dangerous dogs, Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, said kennelling costs and veterinary bills in England and Wales had risen from £4m in 2018 to more than £11m between February and September 2024 - during the first eight months of the added that by April this year, forces predict they could have spent £25m, a rise of 500%.The ban was introduced in England and Wales on 1 February 2024 following a number of attacks involving the dogs. Similar restrictions were also introduced in Scotland, while in Northern Ireland, XL bullies now have to be muzzled and kept on a lead in public. It is a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog where they are banned without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets will be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted."Policing will uphold the government's decisions, and we'll act robustly to do so, but the bigger picture is a focus on responsible dog ownership," Mr Hobrough said that while the force's response to the ban has "driven down" the number of dog attacks, "the demand has been and continues to be simply huge"."As of today we have not received any additional funding to account for this," he said conversations were "ongoing" with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs but there had been no formal agreement on funding "to account for these additional demand factors".Since the XL bully ban, police forces have increased their kennel capacity by a third. But the NPCC said kennel spaces were "reaching capacity", with costs "increasing by the day". The policing body added that it can cost around £1,000 a month to keep an XL bully in a total, between February and September 2024, police forces in England and Wales seized and euthanised 848 dogs at an estimated cost of £340,000, said the NPCC. It said these were dogs surrendered to the police by owners who had not complied with the ban, or not taken advantage of a compensation the same time period, police seized a total of 4,586 dogs suspected of being banned, including XL bullies. So-called Section 1 dogs are banned in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, external, and also include the American pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, Dogo Argentinos, and Fila tactical lead Supt Patrick O'Hara said he did not think all XL bullies were automatically dangerous, but they had the "propensity" to be by their "sheer size and power".
