Out Of Control Dog Owner To Face 14 Years Owner

Last year figures showed that the number of people taken to hospital after dog attacks has soared by 76% in the past decade.

In the UK dog owners who deliberately train their dogs to be more aggressive will face harsher sentences under new guidelines for judges.

The owner or person in charge of a dangerously out of control dog where a victim dies faces between six and 14 years in prison if they are deemed to have "high culpability". This is where the dog is being used as a weapon or is a banned breed.

People who are already disqualified from owning a dog will also face the toughest penalties.

The Sentencing Council is publishing new guidelines for how courts should approach dangerous dog offences.

The guidelines are needed because changes were made to the Dangerous Dogs Act in made in 2014.

For the first time, the Act includes attacks on private property as an offence - and this covers incidents such as a guest being injured by a dog in someone's home, or a postal worker being attacked in a front garden.

Under the guidelines, there will be sharp jumps in maximum sentences, with the harshest punishment for an offence where someone is killed increasing from two to 14 years.

The guidelines will help judges to assess how much blame can be attached to dog owners, with some people deliberately training dogs to be dangerous, while other offences may involve a momentary lapse of control over a dog by an otherwise responsible owner.

District Judge Richard Williams, a member of the Sentencing Council, said: "We know that the majority of dog owners are responsible and ensure their pets do not put anyone in danger, but there are some irresponsible owners whose dogs do put people at risk of injury and in some cases even death."

Malcolm Richardson, national chairman of the Magistrates Association, said: "Because no two cases are the same, magistrates appreciate having as flexible a range of guidelines at their disposal as possible. It helps them to do their job of steering justice fairly."

There is also a new guideline to cover an offence - introduced in 2014 - relating to incidents where assistance dogs are injured or killed.

James White, of the charity Guide Dogs, welcomed the recommendation, saying: "Sadly, every year we hear of more than 100 guide dogs being attacked by other dogs."

The guidelines will come into force in courts in England and Wales from July.