FOI 418317

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 418317

I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 30^th June 2025. Please find below the response to your request:

Please provide the number of reported dog thefts in your jurisdiction for each of the past three full calendar years (2022, 2023, and 2024), as well as for 2025 to date.

The data should be broken down by month and year, allowing us to understand any annual and seasonal trends.

If available, I would also like a geographic breakdown of these reported thefts using the most detailed level possible (such as postcode, neighbourhood, or police ward), with the location format clearly stated.

Please also include, if recorded:

A breakdown by breed of the dogs reported stolen during the same period.

The location type where the theft occurred (e.g., at home, in a local park, from a vehicle, etc.).

The time of day when the incidents occurred (morning, afternoon, evening, overnight, or more specific times if available).

The number of dogs reported stolen that were later found, rescued, or reclaimed.

If you use specific crime codes or tags to record dog theft, or if there is a distinction between attempted and completed thefts in your data, please include any explanatory notes or definitions.

Reply

Your request for information has been considered in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”), and I am not obliged to provide the information requested.

S.12(1) of the Act states that a public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the “appropriate limit”. For police forces in England and Wales, the "appropriate limit" is £450 or 18 hours of work as set by the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.

The information you have requested is not available in a readily retrievable format. The specific offence of Abduction/Theft of Pet dog/cat was not introduced until Aug 2024. Previous to this there was no specific offence title so would have been logged under a theft or burglary offence and there is no mandatory category to log as a dog being stolen. In order to ascertain whether the information you have requested is held would take in excess of 18 hours as each record would have to be checked individually.

In accordance with s.17(5) of the Act, this acts as a Refusal Notice.

However, In accordance with Section 16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request and can provide some information requested for questions as this was retrieved during our initial research. This should not be taken as a precedent that additional information would be supplied outside of the time/fees legislation for any subsequent requests.

The above includes Pet Abduction since 1/8/24. The second table gives the location by first part of the postcode given. Location type is not a mandatory field and may not be given in the description. The time recorded on the crimes would be the time it was reported and not when the incident occurred. It is also not recorded in a searchable format to whether the dog was found, rescued or reclaimed.