My Lords, it is a privilege—as ever—to take part in today’s debate. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Trenchard on his sponsorship of this important Bill, and my right honourable friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire in the other place on his leadership on this issue.
Anything that reduces Simon Cowell, that maker and breaker of lives and careers, to tears on national television is surely worthy of debate. When he was confronted with Finn’s story on “Britain’s Got Talent”, that is exactly what happened—indeed, how could it not? As we have heard, Finn the police dog was on duty with PC Dave Wardell when a robber turned on him with a knife. Finn was stabbed in the head and chest with a 10-inch blade. What is extraordinary is that despite his injuries, Finn kept up his defence of his handler and prevented the criminal from inflicting a mortal wound on PC Wardell. Who could fail to be moved by this? A robber was apprehended, an officer survived a near fatal attack, and indeed Finn himself is now happily recovered and here today. I had the great pleasure of meeting him this morning and he is very welcome. He is enjoying a well-earned retirement. What of the criminal? What justice is to be handed out to someone who attacks a canine officer in the line of duty?
This brings us to the heart of the matter today, which is a much-needed update to legislation to ensure that justice is served in such cases as Finn’s—that the punishment fits the crime. Currently, it does not. We have heard that existing animal welfare legislation is inadequate on two related counts. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 offers a loophole to criminals who can cite the protection of a person or property as a reason for harming animals. This, in turn, limits any prosecution and sentencing to criminal damage. The Bill will make amends by disregarding this loophole with respect to service animals, provided that the animal was under the control of the relevant officer at the time and was being used to carry out officer duties in a reasonable manner. This means that in the case of police dogs and indeed horses, inflicting harm on them will be more akin to inflicting harm on the officer themselves. That is as it should be.
As Matthew Ellis, the Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner has said:
“Fundamentally I am surprised that despite dogs being a key part of policing— that play such an enormous role in protecting police officers, bringing people to justice and offering reassurance to the public—attacking one attracts the same punishment as kicking in the door panel of a car. That is astonishing”.
The most a criminal can get for harming a police dog, however brutally, is six months in prison. This should offend any sense of national justice we have in this House. Indeed, I suspect that it does, given the cross-party support this Bill enjoys, and I am pleased to see that similar legislation is in the works in Wales. I also look forward to the Minister’s update on what is happening in the rest of the United Kingdom. If we pass this Bill, that six-month maximum sentence will be increased to five years. Five years certainly feels better to me.
It is too late for Finn’s attacker to get his comeuppance, but given that from April 2017 to March 2018 police dogs were deployed in nearly 2,000 incidents, the stakes remain high. We need a deterrent in place now that gives proper sentences for the guilty and that serves justice for those animals put in harm’s way to protect their officers and, of course, the general public.
It is of course right that we debate such issues properly and, however emotive the issue may be, ensure that the legislation is robust, fit for purpose and avoids
any unintended consequences. This Bill does just that. We should take notice that it has passed through the other place unamended and I hope it does likewise here. Although it began its parliamentary journey as a Private Member’s Bill, it now enjoys official support from the Government through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. However, PC Wardell put it best when he said:
“This campaign and Bill is my way of saying thank you to Finn for saving my life”.
I find it hard to argue with that.
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