Indigenous advocates call for ban on unmuzzled police dogs in WA as ‘disturbing pattern’ emerges

Western Australia police have been urged to stop using unmuzzled dogs, as the state's Aboriginal Legal Service raises concerns about the "disproportionate" number of canine-assisted arrests involving First Nations people.

The ALSWA said it was supporting the family of 13-year-old Noongar boy Jayden Abraham, who was hospitalised and needed surgery after being mauled by a police dog during an incident in Perth earlier this month.

Jayden's aunt Maxine Abraham said the boy suffered severe injuries to his arm and face and could have been blinded from the attack.

"He is going back to the hospital for skin grafts today," she told Guardian Australia.

"He's scared of being permanently scarred. Especially with the scar on his face, like he's worried he won't be the same person when he looks in the mirror."

She said the boy was left traumatised and had been withdrawn since the attack.

"He was an outgoing boy before this incident," Abraham said. "He's going to be traumatised. Whenever he sees a policeman he's going to be frightened now."

Jayden's family have called for the police body camera vision from the night of the incident to be released.

"If the police have got nothing to hide then release the video footage. What really happened to Jayden?" Abraham said.

WA police confirmed the police dog unit was involved in an arrest on Sunday 13 November on Stannard Street in Bentley.

"Police deployed a number of resources to the area, including the canine unit, and located an adult male and three juveniles about 11.40pm," police said in a statement to Guardian Australia.

They confirmed one boy received injuries as a result of canine deployment. He was conveyed to Perth Children's hospital for treatment

Jayden has not been charged and neither have the other two children.

Dennis Eggington, chief executive of the ALSWA, said 38 of its clients had been "mauled" by police dogs in the past 10 years. These incidents disproportionately affect Indigenous people, he said.

"The barbaric use of police dogs has resulted in a very disturbing pattern," he said.

"What we have seen is that there is a disproportionate use of police dogs which are being set upon First Nations peoples."

The ALSWA said these clients included 12 children - one of them nine years old - and vulnerable people who lived with mental illnesses.

The ALSWA said an analysis of data from 2018 to 2021 revealed First Nations people made up more than half of all people injured by police dogs.

In 2021-2021, figures showed 61% of police dog deployments were against First Nations people, the legal service said.

The ALSWA said it was aware of 34 children injured by a police dog since 2015, with 23 of them identifying as Indigenous.

Eggington urged WA police to review its use of police dog deployments during arrest.

"We now call for the practice of using unmuzzled police dogs to be banned immediately."

WA police said the force was reviewing the incident on 13 November as part of its standard procedure.

"Police canines are deployed in response to serious crime and the best information available at hand at the time," police said.

The Corruption and Crime Commission noted WA police reviewed 317 police dog use of force reports within a five-year period. Nearly 200 of these were recorded during the 2019-20 year, after a change in reporting requirements.

In a report tabled in state parliament earlier this year, the CCC noted Indigenous people were disproportionately involved in police dog deployments and recommended further examination.

The CCC urged WA police to develop policies and procedures around the canine unit and said the lack of "defined" guidelines "hindered" reviews on its use of force.

"The absence of defined policies and procedures creates ambiguity as to the expected operational use of a police dog and hinders review of this force option," the May report said.

WA police did not answer questions about whether it would review its deployment of police dogs but said it is was enacting the CCC's recommendations.

"WA Police Force provided commentary in that report, and is implementing several recommendations from it," a spokesperson for WA police said.

The CCC is expected to review WA police's response to its recommendations by May next year.