It was an absolute pleasure to meet Finn today and show my support for 'Finn's Law'.
Retired Police Dog Finn is a highly trained and decorated former police dog. He was repeatedly stabbed in the chest and head on 5th October 2016 during an attempted arrest. The injuries suffered by Finn were so severe that he required 4 hours of life saving surgery and 11 weeks of recovery. With the commitment and dedication of his handler PC Dave Wardell, the veterinary team and the Wardell family Finn was able to return to active duty before his planned retirement in March 2017. Had Finn not protected PC Wardell there is little doubt that PC Wardell at best would gave suffered a serious injury or at worst lost his life.
There is no specific offence for causing injury to a police animal whilst carrying out their duties. Attacks on police animals are happening daily but very few are pursued through the Courts due to the lack of an appropriate offence. Whilst Finn’s case is thankfully an extreme case, it is by no means unheard of.
Finn's Law is a campaign being run by a group of volunteers to change this. They are saying that police animals should be recognised for the vital role they fulfil. Part of that recognition should be the creation of a specific criminal offence for causing injury to them.
MPs will be looking at a Bill to do just this in June, and it will have my full support.