Police and Crime Commissioner, Festus Akinbusoye took part in a Dog Walk to show his support for the Bedfordshire Police volunteering scheme.  The PCC, along with his team and volunteers from the Dog Watch scheme took part in the walk at Ampthill Park.

The purpose of the walk was to raise awareness of the Dog Watch Scheme, recruit volunteers and also to highlight the importance of being extra vigilant about pet theft.

The Dog Watch volunteering scheme is an initiative that encourages dog owners to be proactive and vigilant whilst walking their pets in their area.  The PCC is passionate about supporting the volunteers who act as the eyes and ears for the local community and to report anything out of the ordinary on their regular routes.

Because of their local knowledge, dog walkers will notice unusual or suspicious activity and anti-social behaviour.  They link in with police to report this information.  We know from local residents there is an increasing worry about dog theft.  At present, dog theft is not defined as a specific crime, however, members of the public have signed a petition make dog theft a specific criminal offence and parliament are now considering this for a debate.

The Commissioner said “I am proud to be keeping my campaign commitment on community-led policing.  I was amazed by the enthusiasm of our Dog Watch volunteers, for community safety and supporting Bedfordshire Police with outcomes”.

Kathryn Patrick, one of our Dog Watch volunteers said “We were pleased to have in attendance with us our new PCC Festus Akinbusoye and his team. We had a great walk and had lots of interest and enquiries about Dog Watch which hopefully lead to many more volunteers.

The watch schemes are a great way to meet new friends whilst supporting and keeping the community safe.  Many thanks to all our volunteers and special thanks to the PCC for taking time out to support us”.

You can sign up for the Dog Watch scheme by emailing watchschemes@bedfordshire.pnn.police.uk