North Yorkshire Police has appointed its first officers dedicated to dealing specifically with pet theft.
The force issued a statement today saying it now had a pet theft lead and a “small team” of pet theft liaison officers.
It said they would “work to ensure every officer recognises the need to offer the best possible support to victims of this type of crime”.
The team’s duties will include conducting “reassurance visits”, in which officers accompany pet theft victims on walks to help them feel more confident when walking their dogs.
The news comes even though North Yorkshire Police said there had only been 16 reported cases of pet theft so far in 2021.
Today’s announcement also said the pet theft team would also ensure other officers recognised the need to support victims of this type of crime.
An online training programme has been launched to help achieve this and North Yorkshire Police also has a seat on a national working group led by Devon and Cornwall Police.
North Yorkshire Police has also published a leaflet on keeping pets safe.
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Sergeant Simon Whitby, head of North Yorkshire Police’s dog section, said:
“As dog owners ourselves we completely understand the theft of a family pet is extremely distressing and a crime which has huge long-lasting emotional impact.
“The leaflet contains information and advice such as microchipping, reporting the theft, use of appealing through social media and where to get support.
“We want the public to know just how dedicated we are to tackling pet theft and that we take it extremely seriously.”
