Province forms working group to mull leashing police dogs: Pivot Legal Society

VANCOUVER – A legal advocacy group in B.C. says the province is considering rules that could leash police dogs.

Pivot Legal Society says Public Safety Minister Shirley Bond and Director of Police Services Clayton Pecknold, confirm a working group has been formed to draft policy to regulate police dog use.

According to Pivot, the working group is in response to statistics compiled by the society, showing police dogs account for nearly half of all injuries caused by municipal police across the province.

Pivot lawyer Douglas King says someone in B.C. is bitten by a police dog, on average, once every two days.

He’s hoping the working group hears from medical experts and victims, as well as police forces as it considers possible provincial standards for safe use of service dogs.

Pivot says it’s not yet known when the working group will convene.

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