THE police bill for dealing with “devil dogs” is set to double because so many gang members are parading them as a weapon of choice, it was revealed today.

Since April, 147 have been seized as part of a crackdown on dangerous dogs on West Midlands streets.

Police warned that banned pit bull-type dogs are increasingly being seized from gang members and young street thugs who are using them as a “status symbol,” to menace communities and intimidate rivals.

Insp Paul Minor said the urban phenomenon of so-called status dogs – heavily linked to gangster rap – has emerged in recent years following a crackdown on guns and knives.

Police must meet the care costs while the dog is in their custody awaiting a court decision on whether it is dangerous by law or by nature - putting “increasing pressure” on local budgets which pay for normal policing operations.

A finance report said the force had already spent almost £90,000 caring for such dogs.

The figure is forecast to rise to £150,000 by the end of the financial year, more than double that which was spent in 2008/09 when about 130 dogs were seized.

Police are currently looking after 57 dogs, 45 of them are of pit bull type. Of them, 18 are being held after biting someone.

All are currently waiting for a decision from the courts on whether they can be destroyed.

Insp Minor, from the force’s dog unit, said the increasing cost burden was the result of a successful efforts to protect the public from potentially dangerous dogs.

But having seen the devastating injuries such dogs can inflict on both children and adults, he said the move was vitally important.

“We’re taking more dogs off the streets and prosecuting more people for this sort of offence,” he said.

“The dog is the evidence and we have to keep it alive until the case goes to court.

“A knife seized as part of an investigation can be put in a store cupboard which costs nothing, but we are dealing with live animals and associated welfare costs.

“It is expensive to keep dogs but there is no other way around it.”

He added: “It is fair to say that since the police service focussed on removing guns and knives off the streets, the possession of dangerous dogs seems to have become more attractive.

“The dog is almost an attractive weapon of choice for them - but the damage and harm they can do is just as bad, if not worse.

“We have got officers fully devoted to dog legislation, there are more officers within West Midlands Police devoted to that than anywhere else in the country.

“We are working with communities even more and because of that people are prepared to come to us with their suspicions and doing more about this problem than anywhere else in the country.”

The report to the Finance and Resources Committee warned: “In the last 18 months, the seizure of dangerous dogs has become an increasing pressure on OCU budgets.

“This is because we have responsibility to kennel and pay associated welfare costs for dangerous dogs as part of the evidential process, until it can be proved in court that the dog is dangerous and may be destroyed or otherwise released.

“The responsibility also extends to any litters the dog may produce and they cannot be destroyed before they reach nine months old.”