Expert Witness

As a police officer for thirty-two years David has an extensive knowledge of legal procedure and report writing. He has given evidence in court on countless occasions and is well versed in legal protocol.

As a police dog instructor David was responsible for the maintenance of training records for dogs and handlers and their assessment under the National Police Dog Assessment Model, including failures to meet grades and remedial actions. As Police Dog Handling Training Officer David produced records of competence for dogs and handlers in support of prosecutions and worked in conjunction with the force legal team in defence of allegations made against them.

David was involved in the monitoring of all dog bites inflicted by the constabulary’s police dogs and advised the force on all aspects of dog related matters, including prosecutions of alleged dangerous dogs. In July 2007 one of his last official duties as a police officer was to act as an expert witness in a Crown Court prosecution under Sec 3 (1) and (4) Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control), in which the defendant entered a not guilty plea. The case involved a two-year-old girl sustaining disfiguring facial injuries from an apparently well-trained dog. Interpretation of the dog’s behaviour and the manner in which injuries were caused were subject to dispute. Following conviction, the presiding judge commented on how the fairness of David’s report assisted her understanding of the case.

David completed a post graduate diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling, with distinction, from Southampton University, an internationally recognised centre of excellence for animal behaviour studies, in 2002, and now provides companion animal behaviour counselling services on veterinary referral.

David is independently accredited as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist by the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour .

If you would like to take advantage of David’s unique combination of legal expertise, experience and theoretical knowledge of canine behaviour you can contact him here.