Night Barking is defined here as any noise from any dog which unreasonably interferes with your peace, comfort or convenience while you are in or about your premises (or while you are in any public place) during the hours when your council’s relevant staff are not available. This usually means during the night hours, the weekends, and public holidays. (Please also refer to our paper ‘What to do about Day Barking‘)
Night barking (as well as day barking) may be dealt with by Tasmania Police at any time of any night or day because chronic barking is an offence under section 46 of the Dog Control Act 2000 regardless of when it occurs, and the police are usually obliged to deal with offences that are reported to them.
There is however a very long-standing tradition that the police may only become involved with barking offences when council staff are not normally available, and then only minimally such as confining their involvement to offence confirmation only. This is to conserve their availability for more serious matters – a view supported by most citizens. The ordinary policeman regards all barking issues as so far off his radar screen that he just doesn’t want to know about them, and hardly cares at all that they exist.
Despite this, duty is duty, and you have a perfect right to request a police officer’s intervention at any time – but it is in your own interests that this be done so prudently and sparingly that the police do not become annoyed. You must remind the police to do this. Police involvement usually ends when an offence confirmation is notified to your council after the investigating officers return to their police station. The onus of remedy implementation then passes to your council. It is standard practice for councils to ignore that confirmation unless your formal complaint about the particular dog is current. Your council may then post an Abatement Notice to the offender. Offenders can become enraged about this and may threaten their council for so doing.
You will find that the reflex response of every police officer contacted about barking is his insistent declaration that ‘barking is a council matter’. This response is authorised in the Tasmanian Police Manual. Overcoming this misrepresentation of law is nearly always your first hurdle. Your patience will be tested. Despite your stress and annoyance try to remain polite, and if you are making no headway simply ask to speak to a more senior officer. It has been found that the higher you go the more understanding you will find.
Night barking may be reported to your local police station by telephone. Depending on police manning arrangements and the time of day, your call will either be taken by an officer at that station, or if it’s unmanned then it will probably be automatically transferred to police headquarters in the city. The telephone operator is usually just that only, and is rigidly programmed to tell you that ‘barking is a council matter’. This is to get rid of you. Instead of entering into a debate about your rights and the dog laws, ask to be transferred to the Radio Room. This will usually occur immediately. If you find any officer so programmed that he is obtuse, rude or obstructive, ask to speak with the officer in charge. This will usually be an experienced sergeant of police and you will very likely get a fair hearing – if you can overcome any residual ‘barking is a council matter’ responses.
It is most beneficial if you can hold your handset (cordless phones are ideal for this) so that the barking can be heard by the officer as it occurs – although to their credit many officers will tell you that such ‘proof’ is not essential to complaint acceptance. No officer can reasonably deny the obvious ongoing barking when it’s continuously interrupting the conversation between you! He will record the fact that he’s heard the din himself and will allocate a job number to your complaint which then makes it official. You are entitled to ask for that number which you should immediately record.
You may be asked what you would like the police to do about your complaint. Your options are to ask:
(a) that the offender be spoken to by attending police;
(b) that the offender be ticketed with an Infringement Notice;
(c) that the council be required, at police request, to attend the premises forthwith and (whether the dog still barking or not) to remove the animal.
(d) that police remove the dog themselves.
Currently you won’t get past (a) as the police have not been issued with the relevant barking offence tickets to issue, nor do they want to interrupt a council officer’s sleep with its call-out fee (the fact that your own sleeping rights have been massacred for hours is not a consideration) and no police officer wants to clear a smelly mess from his patrol car’s back seat particularly after arriving at the local pound for which he has no keys.
In the event of dissatisfaction you are entitled to take the matter to your local police inspector. Tell him the complaint number you recorded. If still not satisfied you can make a Customer Service Complaint addressed to the Commissioner of Police.
It can be recommended that those with ongoing barking harassments download a copy of the Dog Control Act 2000 and its Regulations, and print the relevant sections of interest.
Councils and the police are empowered by this Act to alleviate your distress promptly. This means in theory that they don’t have to actually witness the offence in progress – but in practice they will almost certainly expect and require sufficient cause to convince a magistrate as to the truth of the matter.
It is your task to fully support that process. You may consider supplying a duly witnessed Statutory Declaration as this will help empower the relevant enforcement authority.
Advice prepared by Quiet Tasmania.
