Steve Bishop

Steve began his journey into the world of working dogs in 1986 when he joined the Royal Air Force. After completing his basic training where he was awarded 'best recruit,' he qualified as an RAF Police dog handler and served within the UK and overseas.

He competed in and won RAF Police working dog trials.

In 1992 he joined the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and after a decade on response policing, Steve joined the Dog Support Unit and was posted to North East London with one of the UK's first Belgian Shepherd Dog (Malinois)

Steve regularly competed in area, regional and national police dog trials (NPDT) and achieved the highest search person score at the NPDT in 2008.

Qualified as a firearms support handler, Steve regularly worked alongside armed colleagues not just within the metropolis, but across England.

In 2006, Steve qualified as a Dog Legislation Officer (DLO) and was permitted by the service to forensically examine and give expert evidence on dog breed types banned by the secretary of state under Section 1 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Working in what was undoubtedly the busiest area of dangerous dogs operations in the UK, he examined hundreds of Pitbull type dogs. He also oversaw the investigations of dogs seized under Section 3 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. He assisted a number of members of the public register their dogs under 4b of the DDA 1997 amendment scheme as well as assist in Section 2 Dogs Act 1871 matters.

Steve regularly attended several local authority animal control and welfare facilities as well as the RSPCA animal hospital in North London to assess dogs found in the street and seized under animal cruelty legislation. He also assessed dogs seized by a number of Constabularies and has given evidence in Magistrates, County and Crown Courts, including the Central Criminal Court.

Steve became one of the first MPS handlers to handle both a General Purpose (GP) and Firearms, Drugs and Currency dog. (FDC)

He retired from the service in 2017, but has continued working with dogs. He has assisted Engineers, Warrant Officers and Bailiffs at over 800 warrants where a dog was present. Responsible for creating a safe working environment under Health and Safety Act 1974, Steve has handled almost every imaginable breed and type of dog as well as other abandoned animals.

He has also been invited to and judged at area Police dog trials.

 

Importantly, Steve has handled over one hundred dogs being examined by a court accredited expert witness for both type and behaviour on behalf of defence solicitors, Police Services and the courts. This includes a large number of XL Bully type dogs since the January 2024 change in legislation  made it illegal to own such a dog without a valid exemption.

 

 

Paul Nicholls MSc

Paul grew up surrounded by dogs and horses and has maintained that link to the present day. He worked at a busy private kennels. where he progressed to running the establishment.

Paul joined the Police Service in 1997 serving with Gwent, then Avon and Somerset Police. He joined the Dog Section in 2005, where he handled a number of General Purpose (GP) German Shepherd (GSD) and Malinois dogs. He served as a Firearms Support handler, assisting armed colleagues on operations and specialist search dog handler.

He attended the Metropolitan Police Dog Training Establishment (DTE) in 2018 where he obtained his National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) GP Instructors qualification, followed by a course at the Surrey Police Dog Training School where he was awarded his NPCC Firearms, Narcotics and Currency (FDC) Instructors qualification. Paul has trained multiple breeds for a number of Police services. He has been a competitor, helper, steward and judge at local, regional and National Police Dog Trials.

Paul attended the DTE in 2008 and trained as a Dog Legislation Officer (DLO)  He was the first Gwent officer to become a DLO and has examined and given expert evidence on breeds banned by the secretary of state. He has attended the Welsh Assembly Senedd a number of times where he has given members his observations on dog legislation.

He has worked with charities, local authorities and RSPCA in Wales in identifying banned breeds. Paul was responsible for writing policy documents on dealing with banned or dangerous breeds for Gwent Police.

Following the change of legislation in 2015, Paul became the single point of contact (SPOC) for Guide Dogs For The Blind (Wales), liaising with their trained dog teams involved in incidents.

Paul received further accreditation training via the Metropolitan Police Status Dog Unit (SDU) surrounding XL Bully dogs and has given expert evidence on both dangerous dogs and animal welfare act matters in Magistrates and Crown Court.

Paul has a Foundation degree, FdSc Canine Sciences and a BSc (Hons) Animal Behaviour and Welfare continuing on to gaining a MSc Animal Science with merit. Both degrees specialised in canines, with the latter looking at the social and economic impact of dangerous dogs. He has been guest lecturer at Myerscough College, where he has presented to students on the subjects of dangerous dogs and the training of dogs. He regularly attends seminars and assists with training to continue his professional development.

 

 

Peter Madden.

Peter served with the Metropolitan Police from 1978 to 2016. From 1997 to his retirement he was a Police Dog Sergeant, primarily based in North West London.

Peter worked 2 German Shepherd Dogs as general purpose dogs, he was a qualified Police Dog instructor and competed in area and regional Police dog trials. 

As a Police dog sergeant Peter frequently filled the role of dog duty officer for London providing advice and assistance to officers throughout London and beyond on the deployment of Police Dogs, and dogs coming to Police notice in all circumstances. He was widely experienced in the deployment of Police dogs in public order including deployment to Northern Ireland in support of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

In 2014, Peter took over as the sergeant in charge of the Status Dog Unit, working exclusively in the dangerous dog role. He qualified as a Dog Legislation Officer (DLO) and was permitted by the service to examine and give expert evidence on dog breed/types banned by the secretary of state under Section 1 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Working in what was the busiest area of dangerous dogs operations in the UK, he examined hundreds of Pitbull type dogs. He also oversaw the investigations of dogs seized under Section 3 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. He assisted a number of members of the public register their dogs under 4b of the DDA 1997 amendment scheme as well as assist in Section 2 Dogs Act 1871 matters. He has provided evidence in multiple cases relating to Animal Welfare Act offences.

Peter has extensive operational experience in dealing with dogs that come into contact with Police in all circumstances, strays, prisoners property, aggressive dogs, banned breeds, Animal Welfare Act cases including dog fighting cases. Peter has worked with and assisted the RSPCA in the operational environment and has been commended by the RSPCA. He is familiar with all of the animal control equipment currently utilised by Police and has personal experience of using much of it personally.

On his retirement from the Metropolitan Police, Peter took a civilian Police post as the Dangerous Dog Advisor for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police, where he served for 10 years until his retirement in 2026.

A DLO with a National reputation, Peter has been a member of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Dangerous Dog working group since 2014. He has been the deputy policing advisor to the last three NPCC portfolio leads. Additionally he has been the Eastern Region Policing lead on dangerous dogs for 10 years, advising DLOs, and Police forces, including police legal services on dangerous dogs matters.

Peter’s evidence on Dangerous Dog matters, including reports on behaviour and temperament, has been accepted on hundreds of occasions in the courts. He is experienced at giving evidence in Magistrates and Crown Court. He is currently studying for a diploma in canine aggression.

Peter has given talks and presentations as a guest speaker on dogs to a large variety of groups ranging from Police officers, schools, adult meetings including the All Party Parliamentary Police Group at the House of Lords. He has been invited as a guest speaker to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, the London Vet Show and various conferences, on dangerous dogs alongside a wide variety of other experts. In 2023 he was one of four presenters providing Government sponsored training on Dog Control for enforcers nationally.

Peter has appeared on television on multiple occasions in his role as a serving dog handler, and more recently has appeared on Sky News on several occasions as a subject matter expert on dangerous dogs.