Police chiefs demand more officers to help implement new pet theft law
Police chiefs have demanded more officers to help crackdown on the "vile" crime of pet theft.
Under a new law proposed by ministers, stolen animals will no longer be treated as a loss of property in recognition of the "emotional value" pets hold for people.
It comes after a huge rise in dognapping during the pandemic, with many cases seeing pets stolen to order and sold on the black market.
The legislation has been welcomed by Black Country MPs, but police chiefs in the West Midlands have warned they need extra resources to be able to investigate the spike in crimes.
West Midlands Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner, Tom McNeil, said he had been closely monitoring reports of organised criminals stealing dogs for order and that the fear of losing a pet was "very real".
"Whilst the government is right to acknowledge this issue and to strengthen police powers, it highlights again the need for proper resources to investigate crimes like these," he said.
"Criminals engaged in these crimes are often linked to committing other offences like drug dealing.
"What we actually need is police numbers to return to the levels of 2010, before West Midlands Police had its funding cut and was forced to shrink by a quarter."
West Midlands Police has lost more than 2,000 officers in the last decade, and is getting 1,200 new ones by 2023 as part of the Government's uplift programme.
John Spellar, the Labour MP for Warley, said: "Dognapping is a vile crime that ruins lives. Pets are a part of the family and their theft is particularly traumatic for children.
"They are also a huge comfort to many lonely people . This has been even more important during the Covid crisis when many vulnerable people have had to isolate.
"The Government should get this into law as soon as possible and police and courts should crack down hard."
Ministers say the new offence of pet abduction will prioritise the missing animal's welfare and help police to track incidents and offenders.
It is one of a number of recommendations in a report published by the Government's Pet Theft Taskforce, and could carry a prison sentence of up to five years.
According to the report, seven in 10 of all recorded animal thefts involve dogs. It is estimated that around 2,000 dog theft crimes were reported police forces in 2020.
