How to get someone's dog to be put on lead at all time?

[MarcoPoloCX]

Can someone tell me where I stand in getting someone’s dog to be put on lead at all times in a public area.

Long story short.

My dogs were on lead, theirs weren’t.
The dog darted form a distance and started attacking mine.
The male owner had to hit and kick the attacking dog for almost two minutes before it backed off.
During this period, it was attacking my dogs and I got knocked to the ground.
When he managed to get the dog off.
They (the male and female owner) didn’t apologise, didn’t ask how we were but said it was because of my dogs barking that caused the incident after I shouted at them that this was the second time the same dog attacked mine.

I don’t feel safe as I have to walk past the area they usually hang around to get to the main field.
If their dog is not put on lead, the same thing can happen.
My dogs or myself might not be so lucky next time.
What if I had a small child or an elderly person with me? That would have been a dangerous situation.

It’s an offence not to have your dog under control in a public area which their obviously wasn’t.
If there’s a likelihood that you could be attacked or injured in protecting or stopping the attack, the courts would consider that as dangerous.
Also it doesn’t have to bite to be deemed dangerous.

I have reported to the police and they are investigating but is there any way of getting them to pay them a visit and to have some kind of public spaces protection served on them?
The female owner had a finger bitten off by their own dog and the police were called so they would have a record of this?
It’s a massive dog, so I doubt very much the woman would be able to control if she was alone.

Thanks in advance for your help.

The police will have to enforce this, you can't ask for it. You can report each and every incident, and the police will create a log. They will apply either for a control order or a destruction order, depending on the incidents, when they feel that they have a good chance of success.

Dog law is a lot more complicated than it initially seems.

So if their dogs are not on a lead, everytime when I walk past the area they hang around to get to the main field, I would be putting myself and the dogs at risk? I have small dogs and theirs is a big mother ....so imagine the damage it can cause.

Even though my dogs were on lead, on the path, a distance from them, is there nothing I can do?

It's the second time it has attacked but my first report to the police.
Other owners mentioned how out of control they are.

Your local dog warden can help you with this as they are more involved with enforcing the the dog act than the police are.

Keep reporting every time they are off lead and eventually the dogs will either be taken away or kept on lead

keep reporting each 'off the lead in a public place' incident to the police and council (dog warden). Report every attack even if you have no visible injuries.
You could also use your phone video function to record events whenever you feel threatened walking past them or seeing them on the field - evidence in case it's needed.

I was asked to come in to the police station to make a full statement as the police was applying for a warrant to have the dog seized and assessed.
That was almost a couple of weeks ago.
Today, I had a voicemail saying that they are now going to the court to apply for a control order.
Does that mean the dog was assessed and that some kind of restraining in a public place is applied for?

Wish I didn’t miss the call so that I could have clarity.