Pets | “Often the hallmarks of any crime are not fulfilled,” says the police about dog bites and attacks

In the capital region there have been several incidents in July where a dog has attacked a person. The attacks have required hospital visits.

When a dog attacks a person or another dog, the situation is complicated in the eyes of the law.

Dog attacks or bites are not recorded in the police system, says the Police Board. Cases are affected by situational factors, which is why the spectrum of possible criminal titles is wide. In practice, it is impossible to keep statistics on cases.

Already in September of last year, the chairman of the board of the Kennel Club Esa Kukkonen informed the association that it was concerned about the increase in dog attacks in the headlines.

Kukkonen says in the interview that problems related to dogs are rarely caused by the dog and that the responsibility in attack situations always rests with the owner. He finds it unfortunate that the authorities currently do not have effective means of dealing with dog owners who do not pay attention to the rules or instructions.

Helsinki crime commissioner of the police department Juha-Matti Suominen says, among other things, that the dog’s previous behavior and the use of a leash affect the criminal charges.

If a dog attacks a person for the first time, holding the dog becomes key. If the dog has not been restrained in an attack situation, it is a breach of order. In a situation where the dog is loose and a person suffers a major injury, the injury may be caused.

If it is known that the dog has previously attacked a person, it is a dangerous animal in the eyes of the law and then it is a question of leaving a dangerous animal unattended.

“A violation of order results in a fine. In that situation, we cannot give harsher punishments. And very often the hallmarks of any crime are not met, in which case the police do not have the authority to issue a punishment or start a preliminary investigation into the matter,” says Suominen.

Situationwhere a dog bites another dog while off leash, is also considered a disorderly conduct and in some cases an act of damage.

“If a dog bites another dog, but is on a leash, we are easily in a situation where there is no crime at all.”

According to Suominen, the most common situation is when a dog bites another dog, for example when going outside. According to him, however, there are only a few situations involving people.

Kennel Association Kukkonen sees the only solution to dog attacks is for the authorities to intervene in situations with a lower threshold and possibly toughen the punishments for the owners so that attacks do not happen.

The Kennel Club is only able to provide information on, for example, the selection of a breed, but according to Kukkonen, the matter is otherwise primarily a matter for legislators and authorities.

“Certain breeds have been bred in some part of the world, for example, as fighting or fighting dogs, and the dog’s owner is responsible for understanding what kind of dog they are getting.”

For example Britain said last fall that he was going to ban the americanbully xl dog breed because of dog attacks. According to Kukkonen, the Kennel Club has not primarily been in favor of breed bans, nor in matters related to breed breeding. The reason for that can be found in supervision, which is not effective enough.

“What effect would a breed ban have without effective supervision, especially when today there can be different breed mixes, crossbred dogs and unregistered dogs, and they are not affected by the breed ban? The matter should be handled somehow differently.”