Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Hertfordshire (BCH) Animal welfare scheme secures national seal of compliance

A tri-force scheme monitoring the welfare of serving police dogs across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire has received recognition of compliance by having an Animal Welfare Scheme for their working Police dogs.

The Tri-Force Animal Welfare Independent Visitors Scheme, a collaboration between the PCCs of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, has been formally endorsed by Dogs Trust after demonstrating strong and effective arrangements for monitoring the welfare of serving police dogs across the forces.

Animal Welfare Visitors are independent volunteers whose job is to make regular, inspections of each force’s dog training and accommodation facilities.

All members of the public, the volunteers dedicate their time and undertake training to help them effectively assess facilities and raise any issues for improvement.

Dogs Trust has been working with police forces across the UK for more than 20 years to ensure the welfare of police dogs is of the highest standards, and to also identify possible service dogs among the thousands of dogs it rehomes every year.

Cambridgeshire’s Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) acts as administrator for the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire (BCH) Independent Animal Welfare Scheme.

Over recent months, the scheme’s coordinator, Shona McKenzie, has been working to secure Dogs Trust certification to provide reassurance to the public of the well-monitored and robust animal welfare checks in place across the three forces.

PCCs John Tizard (Bedfordshire), Darryl Preston (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough), and Jonathan Ash-Edwards (Hertfordshire) have all been presented with certificates to reflect the scheme’s success.

John said; “Congratulations and a big thank you to the volunteers from the Animal Welfare Visitors Scheme for being recognised for their stewardship of the police dogs’ welfare.

“The dogs play an important role in policing and keeping our communities safe.  The volunteers also play an important role in enabling the police dogs’ teams to serve our communities.”

Last week, Shona met with Louise Crawford from Dogs Trust who is the Animal Welfare Scheme Coordinator to present detailed evidence of the range of work carried out through the scheme, providing copies of the annual report, agenda and minutes of committee meetings, visit logs and details of reporting processes. She also showcased the support provided nationally to other areas setting up their own schemes.

The charity was extremely impressed with the way information is gathered, organised and evidenced as part of the scheme and was particularly complimentary about the new-style annual report.

Dogs Trust will be adding new layers to its assurance process – a positive development to enhance transparency, widen the scope of the scheme and increase public reassurance.

Louise said "I am delighted that the The Tri-Force Animal Welfare Independent Visitors Scheme has an effective Animal Welfare Scheme for their dog units. This ensures that there is an open and transparent process to monitor the welfare needs of these amazing working dogs. Dogs Trust is proud to support this scheme and looks forward to working in partnership with the Tri- Force going forward and is excited to see how welfare of working dogs can continue to improve”

For more information about the Animal Welfare Scheme visit: Animal Welfare Visiting Scheme.

For information about the Dogs Trust visit: Dogs Rehoming & Dog Rescue Charity | Dogs Trust