Cumbria Police Go Over Budget by Nearly £389k
Cumbria Police is facing questions over a major overspend linked to dangerous dogs. After the force’s budget for this area went over by £389,000.
The issue was raised with members of Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel, where spending on dangerous dogs was listed as a budget pressure. The extra cost is understood to be linked to the national crackdown on XL Bully dogs and the wider cost of dealing with banned or suspected dangerous dogs.
The overspend comes after the XL Bully ban placed new duties on police forces across England and Wales. Under current rules, it is a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales, without a valid Certificate of Exemption. It is also an offence to sell, abandon, give away, breed from, or have an XL Bully in public without a lead and muzzle.
Why the Overspend Happened
The cost pressure appears to be linked to the work involved in enforcing dangerous dog laws.
This can include:
- responding to reports of suspected banned dogs
- seizing animals where required
- arranging kennelling
- covering vet and welfare costs
- supporting investigations and legal processes
National policing figures show how quickly these costs can build. The National Police Chiefs’ Council said forces in England and Wales had seized more than 4,586 suspected Section 1 dogs between February and September 2024. It also said police services had increased kennel capacity by a third since the XL Bully ban began.
Dangerous Dogs Now a Budget Pressure
The financial papers for Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel listed Dangerous Dogs £0.389m as a risk or budget pressure. The same documents also listed other pressures, including forensics charges and court and legal costs.
This means the dangerous dog overspend is not just a one-off operational issue. It is now being treated as something that could affect future police budgeting.
The panel documents also showed other areas of pressure within the wider police budget, including a police officer pay overspend of £0.499m, largely linked to workforce plan changes and increased overtime.
XL Bully Ban Has Added Pressure on Police
The XL Bully ban came into force in stages. From 31 December 2023, restrictions were introduced on selling, breeding, giving away, abandoning and walking XL Bully dogs in public without a lead and muzzle. From 1 February 2024, it became a criminal offence to own one in England and Wales without a valid exemption.
This has left police forces with extra enforcement work. In some cases, officers must seize suspected banned dogs and keep them in kennels while checks, court cases or other legal steps take place.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council has said the ban has placed a “huge burden” on policing, with seized dogs needing care, secure kennelling and expert handling.
Not the First Police Overspend Scrutiny
Cumbria Police spending has come under attention before. An earlier report from 2018 referred to a £400,000 overspend in the first three months of that year, which was linked to extra spending aimed at putting more police on the street.
The latest issue is different, as it centres on the costs of dangerous dog enforcement rather than general policing numbers. But both cases show how operational pressures can quickly affect police budgets.
What This Means for Cumbria
For residents, the issue raises two main questions.
The first is public safety. Police still need to respond to dangerous dog reports and enforce the law where banned dogs are involved.
The second is cost. Kennelling, vet care, legal work and officer time can all be expensive. If more dogs are seized, these costs may continue to rise.
The dangerous dog overspend is now under scrutiny, and the Police, Fire and Crime Panel is expected to keep monitoring the financial impact. For Cumbria Police, the challenge will be balancing public safety with the rising cost of enforcing the law.
