Shropshire lawyers welcome new sentencing guidelines for dangerous dog owners
Shropshire lawyers have welcomed the new guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council which will see the owners of dangerous dogs held to greater account and even made to pay compensation to victims who have been attacked by the dogs.
Speaking after the announcement that owners who allow their dog to be dangerously out of control and injure someone could face eighteen months in custody, Ceri Lewis, a Solicitor who specialises in Criminal Law at the Oswestry offices of leading Shropshire and North Wales law firm GHP Legal, said the move was long overdue.
“It is now to be hoped that the courts will use their full powers, said Ms Lewis, “and that this will prove to be a deterrent to irresponsible dog owners. Whilst financial recompense is not a just payment for the physical damage a dangerous dog can cause, it is right that it should be imposed.”
The new guidelines cover the most commonly sentenced offences in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, including allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control causing injury and possession of a prohibited dog. In cases where someone deliberately sets a dog on another person with the intention of injuring them, the offender is likely to be charged with assault. The maximum custodial sentence for keeping a prohibited dog will be six months.
