Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to reduce dog theft in the last 12 months.

The Government understands the distress that can be caused by the theft of a pet. It is therefore important that these crimes, when they take place, are reported to the police so that they can be investigated and, where appropriate, the perpetrators taken through the courts and given appropriate sentences.

In 2017-18 the Government is providing police forces in England and Wales with direct Government funding worth over £7.5 billion to tackle all types of crime. As far as the police response to individual incidents are concerned, it is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, as operational leaders and elected local representatives, to decide how best to deploy resources to manage and respond to crime and local priorities.