Four dog owners in North Devon have actually been fined for overlooking legislation needing them to keep their pooches on leads. It follows a renewed campaign to mark out an increasing tide of dog annoyance events in Victoria Park, in the centre of Bideford, which Torridge District Council released last month.
Increased patrols were performed by officers certified by Devon and Cornwall Police under the CSAS – Community Safety Accreditation Scheme. The plan provides council officers restricted powers such as getting names and addresses from people when an offense has actually been dedicated, for instance, under anti-social behaviour legislation. Officers from the council hung out appealing with lots of dog owners and other members of the general public, who they discovered were extremely helpful of the effort.
In Torridge there are just 2 locations in the entire of the district where dogs need to be on a lead at all times, with Victoria Park being designated as one of those places. The existence of kids’s backyard, paddling swimming pool and grassed locations for picnics and entertainment indicates that the park has actually been reserved to lower the prospective annoyance of dogs strolling around easily off lead.
LEARN MORE: Police called after owner let dog off lead in Devon park
But regardless of the well-publicised and informed campaign, 4 repaired charge notifications of £100 were provided to owners who had actually overlooked the indications and suggestions to put their dogs on a lead, a representative for Torridge District Council said.
They included: “Two members of public at first declined to offer their information to officers, which in one case caused the cops going to, information being obtained, following which a fine was provided. During the other encounter, the dog owner was recognized by another partner organisation, who understood the address of the owner.
“Council Officers were later on able to go to the owner’s address and provided the fine personally to a supposedly really shocked dog owner. Failure to supply a name and address, when an offense has actually been dedicated, is an offense in itself under different legislation.
“The purpose of fixed penalty notices being issued by Torridge are to avoid some offences having to go to court, in an initiative to save police and court time. Issuing fines is seen by courts as a fair and proportionate way for councils to deal with some offences. If a person fails to accept a fine or pay a fine, the case can then be taken to court, where costs may escalate and ultimately, a person may receive a criminal record if found guilty of a relevant offence.”
Staci Dorey, Torridge District Council’s Head of Legal and Governance included: “Fortunately the majority of owners have a responsible approach to dog ownership and public support for this campaign has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Despite the wide publicity a small handful of owners chose to ignore the directive and were subsequently issued with a fixed penalty fine of £100. We would like to thank all the owners that continue to observe the dogs on lead areas in the park so that the space and facilities can be safely shared and enjoyed by everyone.”
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