Dog Thefts 2015 to 2023
Keywords
Dog, Theft, Pet, Animal, Stolen.
Publication Number
PUB 1138
Publication Statement
Please note that this information is correct as at 12 January 2024 and may be subject to change.
As with all publications of information by Essex Police, please note caveats may apply regarding the accuracy of data.
Limitation - Other descriptive things such as: age, breed, gender of the pet and the location the pet was stolen (i.e. walk, home, garden, outside shop, from car); are also not recorded / or recorded only sometimes.
Title
Numbers of Dogs Stolen by Essex District 2018 to 2023
Date Range
01 January 2018 to 31 December 2023
Related Documents/Links
Dog Thefts 2015 to 2022 | Essex Police
Dog and Cat Thefts 2021 to 2023 | Essex Police
Numbers of Stolen Pets 2019 to 2022 | Essex Police
Cat Thefts 2016-2020 | Essex Police
FOI Publication
Data is from 01/01/2023 to 31/12/2023.
Data is based on theft offence crimes and robbery offence crimes where the ‘property code’ is ‘pet animal – dog’ and the ‘property status’ is ‘stolen’ and/or ‘stolen/recovered’.
Numbers of Dogs Stolen in Theft / Robbery Crimes by Year and Essex Policing District – January 2018 to December 2023
|
District |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
Grand Total |
|
Grand Total |
64 |
65 |
60 |
95 |
63 |
60 |
407 |
|
Basildon |
7 |
9 |
12 |
8 |
11 |
5 |
52 |
|
Braintree |
6 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
29 |
|
Brentwood |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
10 |
|
Castle Point |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
18 |
|
Chelmsford |
7 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
9 |
37 |
|
Colchester |
5 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
24 |
|
Epping Forest |
6 |
4 |
5 |
14 |
4 |
8 |
41 |
|
Harlow |
5 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
20 |
|
Maldon |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
|
Rochford |
5 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
|||
|
Southend-on-Sea |
4 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
24 |
|
Tendring |
8 |
9 |
11 |
12 |
9 |
2 |
51 |
|
Thurrock |
8 |
7 |
3 |
27 |
6 |
6 |
57 |
|
Uttlesford |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
23 |
|
(Not Recorded) |
1 |
1 |
Title
Dog Thefts 2015 to 2022
Date Range
01 April 2015 to 31 December 2022
Related Documents/Links
Numbers of Stolen Pets 2019 to 2022
FOI Publication
Data is from 01/04/2015 to 31/12/2022
Data is based on theft offence crimes and robbery offence crimes where the ‘property code’ is ‘pet animal – dog’ and the ‘property status’ is ‘stolen’ and/or ‘stolen/recovered’, broken down by month and year
Also, please note that this is number of thefts in which dogs were stolen, and not quantity of dogs stolen in each theft.
| Grand Total | 67 | 69 | 54 | 58 | 57 | 50 | 70 | 61 | 486 |
| Month / Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Grand Total |
| Jan | 8 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 31 | |
| Feb | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 29 | |
| Mar | 7 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 48 | |
| Apr | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 38 |
| May | 8 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 40 |
| Jun | 10 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 49 |
| Jul | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 32 |
| Aug | 11 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 60 |
| Sep | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 37 |
| Oct | 9 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 39 |
| Nov | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 40 |
| Dec | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 23 |
Breakdown by district:
| Grand Total | 67 | 69 | 54 | 58 | 57 | 50 | 70 | 61 | 486 |
| District / Month / Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Grand Total |
| Basildon | 1 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 67 |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Feb | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| Mar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| Apr | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||||
| May | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| Jun | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Jul | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Aug | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |||
| Sep | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Oct | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| Nov | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |||||
| Dec | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Braintree | 7 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 37 |
| Jan | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Mar | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Apr | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| May | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Jun | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||
| Jul | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Sep | 0 | ||||||||
| Oct | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Dec | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Brentwood | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 | |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mar | |||||||||
| Apr | |||||||||
| May | |||||||||
| Jun | |||||||||
| Jul | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Sep | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Oct | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Dec | 1 | ||||||||
| Castle Point | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 21 |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mar | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Apr | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| May | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Jun | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Jul | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Sep | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Oct | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Dec | |||||||||
| Chelmsford | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 37 |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Feb | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Mar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Apr | |||||||||
| May | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| Jun | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Jul | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Sep | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Oct | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Dec | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Colchester | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 30 |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mar | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Apr | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| May | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Jun | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Jul | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Sep | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Oct | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Dec | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Epping Forest | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 39 |
| Jan | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mar | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Apr | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |||||
| May | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Jun | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||
| Jul | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||
| Sep | 0 | ||||||||
| Oct | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Dec | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Harlow | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 26 | |
| Jan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mar | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Apr | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| May | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||
| Jun | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Jul | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Aug | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Sep | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Oct | 0 | ||||||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Dec | 0 | ||||||||
| Maldon | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 23 |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mar | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Apr | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| May | |||||||||
| Jun | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Jul | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Aug | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |||||
| Sep | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Oct | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Dec | |||||||||
| Rochford | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 9 | ||||
| Jan | 0 | ||||||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mar | 0 | ||||||||
| Apr | 0 | ||||||||
| May | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Jun | 0 | ||||||||
| Jul | 0 | ||||||||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Sep | 4 | 4 | |||||||
| Oct | 0 | ||||||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Dec | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Southend-on-Sea | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 39 |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Mar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Apr | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| May | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Jun | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Jul | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Aug | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | |||
| Sep | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| Oct | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Dec | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Tendring | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 65 |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Feb | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Mar | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||||
| Apr | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||
| May | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Jun | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||||
| Jul | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Aug | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Sep | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | |||
| Oct | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||||
| Nov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Dec | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||
| Thurrock | 7 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 50 |
| Jan | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Feb | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Mar | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Apr | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| May | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Jun | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Jul | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Sep | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Oct | 0 | ||||||||
| Nov | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||||
| Dec | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Uttlesford | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 29 | |
| Jan | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Feb | |||||||||
| Mar | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Apr | |||||||||
| May | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||||
| Jun | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Jul | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| Aug | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Sep | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| Oct | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Nov | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Dec | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Location “type” isn’t well recorded, but below are some types of location where the pets have been stolen or stolen/recovered from in 2022:
| Grand Total | 60 |
| Location Premises Type | Count of CRN |
| Compound / Yard / Depot | 1 |
| Flat/Apartment | 2 |
| House- Mid Terrace | 1 |
| House- Semi Detached | 1 |
| Open Space / Common Land | 1 |
| Street / Road | 1 |
| Not Recorded | 53 |
‘Property description’ is used as ‘dog breeds’ are not properly recorded on our system.
The below table represents all the information we hold on the 131 dog theft offences in 2021 and 2022.
Other descriptive things such as: age, gender of the pet and the location the pet was stolen (i.e. walk, home, garden, outside shop, from car); are also not recorded / or recorded only sometimes as the fields set are not mandatory.
| Grand Total | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 131 |
| Description / Month / Year | Jan-21 | Feb-21 | Mar-21 | Apr-21 | May-21 | Jun-21 | Jul-21 | Aug-21 | Sep-21 | Oct-21 | Nov-21 | Dec-21 | Jan-22 | Feb-22 | Mar-22 | Apr-22 | May-22 | Jun-22 | Jul-22 | Aug-22 | Sep-22 | Oct-22 | Nov-22 | Dec-22 | Grand Total |
| AMERICAN BULLDOG | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| BISHON | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| BLACK BRINDLE | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| BLACK LAB | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| BOTH FEMALE | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| CANE CORSO | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| CHARA | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| CHIHUAHUA | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| COCKER SPANIEL | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| DACHOUND | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| FEMALE | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | |||||||||||||
| FOXHOUND | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| FRENCH BULLDOG | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| LABRADOR | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MALE | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| MANDY | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MERLE - MALE | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MERLE- FEMALE | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MICKEY | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MINIATURE DACHSHUND | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| NAMED EGGI | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| POMAPOO BITCH NAMED BISCUIT | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| POMAPOO BITCH NAMED LUCKY | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| RUBY | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| T-CUP JACK RUSSEL NAMED ALBERT | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| YORKSHIRE TERRIER | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Not Recorded | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 87 |
Outcome
The below data represents outcomes for theft offence crimes and robbery offence crimes where the ‘property code’ is ‘pet animal – dog’ and the ‘property status’ is ‘stolen’ and/or ‘stolen/recovered’ for 2022:
| Grand Total | 60 |
| Outcome Type | Grand Total |
| Type 14 - Evidential Difficulties Victim Based- Suspect Not Identified: Crime Confirmed But The Victim Either Declines Or Unable To Support Further Police Investigation To Identify The Offender | 6 |
| Type 15 - Named Suspect Identified: Victim Supports Police Action But Evidential Difficulties Prevent Further Action | 13 |
| Type 16 - Named Suspect Identified: Evidential Difficulties Prevent Further Action: Victim Does Not Support (Or Has Withdrawn Support From) Police Action | 7 |
| Type 18 - Investigation Complete; No Suspect Identified. Crime Investigated As Far As Reasonably Possible-Case Closed Pending Further Investigative Opportunities Becoming Available | 29 |
| Type 8 - Community resolution (Crime) | 1 |
| Under Investigation | 4 |
The below table represents number of dog / dogs stolen in the above theft / robbery offences for 2021 and 2022:
| Grand Total | 159 |
| Month / Year | Number of Dogs Stolen |
| Jan-21 | 7 |
| Feb-21 | 5 |
| Mar-21 | 9 |
| Apr-21 | 7 |
| May-21 | 4 |
| Jun-21 | 3 |
| Jul-21 | 5 |
| Aug-21 | 33 |
| Sep-21 | 9 |
| Oct-21 | 4 |
| Nov-21 | 4 |
| Dec-21 | 5 |
| Jan-22 | 2 |
| Feb-22 | 7 |
| Mar-22 | 8 |
| Apr-22 | 7 |
| May-22 | 7 |
| Jun-22 | 11 |
| Jul-22 | 4 |
| Aug-22 | 3 |
| Sep-22 | 1 |
| Oct-22 | 4 |
| Nov-22 | 3 |
| Dec-22 | 7 |
Every effort is made to ensure that figures provided are accurate and complete, however Essex Police systems are designed primarily for the management of individual cases and not primarily to produce statistical information. Please note although data can be extracted from a number of sources via database queries the results are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system and could also be inaccurate as a result of free text entry fields. Care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when interpreting data.