§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Prison Service still has an electric shock dog collar in its possession; and how many times such a collar has been used since November 1998. [97109]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Prison Service is no longer in possession of an electric shock dog collar. Records held at the National Dog Training Centre indicate that the collar was used seven times on six dogs between March 1993 and July 1995. The electric collar was to be used only when authorised by the head of the National Dog Training Centre. It was used on adult dogs as part of a training course or remedial training and only as a last resort, when other methods of correcting a dog in control-related exercises had failed. The collar has not been used since 6 July 1995. On 14 April 1999, an amendment was made to Prison Service orders. It instructed that electric collars were not to be used, under any circumstances, on Prison Service dogs during training.
§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces have an electric shock dog collar; and how many times such a device has been used since July 1998. [97110]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeOf the 43 police forces in England and Wales, 20 possess electric shock dog collars for use in training. The device has been used by eight forces on a total of 37 occasions since July 1998. I understand that the relevant committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers is to review the use of this item.