Taking The Lead is a campaign which aims to reduce the number of dog bite incidents in Merseyside.
Supported by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, the campaign also has the backing of the Merseyside Dog Safety Partnership (MDSP), the Blue Cross, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, University of Liverpool, Royal Mail and local councils.
Here on Merseyside we have seen the devastating consequences a dog bite can have. Yet, we know there are some simple steps that dog owners can take to help protect people, particularly vulnerable children.
The aim of Taking the Lead is to offer important safety tips to all dog owners in Merseyside about looking after their pet, especially around children, which could prevent serious injuries.
Police data shows that children under 16 are most likely to be the victims of dog bites and this risk increases significantly in the summer when more children are at home with their pets or around other people’s dogs, and are also spending more time in public spaces.
Although parks and beaches have been identified as hot spots for incidents, dog bites can happen anywhere and most bites occur in the home. Any offences that happen in private can be prosecuted in the same way as bites in public.
Merseyside Police also has the highest number of reported dog bites causing injury of any police force in the country.
The law makes it illegal for a dog owner to allow their pet to be out of control in a public or private place if doing so causes other people to feel scared or that their safety is at risk.
Taking the Lead has been developed by Merseyside Police in partnership with the Merseyside Dog Safety Partnership, a group of experts in dog bite prevention who use police, hospital and academic data and research to identify how and why incidents occur and provide advice to people who own or look after a dog.