Researchers found people who own vicious dogs such as pit bulls have significantly more criminal convictions -- including crimes against children -- then owners with licensed, gentler dogs.

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    The study showed that every owner of a high-risk breed known for aggression had at least one run-in with the police, from traffic citations to serious criminal convictions.

    "Owners of vicious dogs who have been cited for failing to register a dog (or) failing to keep a dog confined on the premises ... are more than nine times more likely to have been convicted for a crime involving children, three times more likely to have been convicted of domestic violence ... and nearly eight times more likely to be charged with drug (crimes) than owners of low-risk licensed dogs," said Jaclyn Barnes of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

    Aggressive breeds identified by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and some insurance companies include pit bulls, rottweilers, akitas and chows. The definition excludes dogs used in law enforcement or dogs protecting an owner or property.

    "A 'vicious dog" means a dog that, without provocation, has killed or caused serious injury to any person, has killed another dog, or belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog," they wrote in their report.

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    "One can argue that choosing to own a vicious dog is a marker of social deviance because a vicious dog is, by definition, a socially deviant animal," said Barbara Boat, director of The Childhood Trust at the University of Cincinnati, who worked on the study.

    Of the people studied who owned an aggressive breed of dog and who also had been cited at least once for failure to register it, 30 percent had at least five criminal convictions or traffic citations. Barnes and colleagues used public records to check on the criminal pasts of dog owners.

    This compared to 1 percent of owners of low-risk, licensed dogs such as poodles, beagles or collies, the researchers reported in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

    The researchers said their findings could be useful for social and law enforcement workers.

    "We suggest, regardless of dog breed, that failure to license a dog is a potential warning sign of other deviant behavior," they wrote.

    (Agencies)