Incidents of hare coursing have increased according to latest police figures

Lincolnshire Police launched Operation Galileo to target hare coursing

The statistics have been published by Lincolnshire Police and reveal there were 1048 incidents of hare coursing reported to the force across that county between September 2019 and March 2020. That shows an increase on the previous year’s figure, although it is still the second lowest recorded.

For the same period during 2018 to 2019 the force received 873 reports, 1365 reports for 2017 to 2018 and 1965 for 2016 to 2017.

Chief Inspector Phil Vickers, who is in charge of tackling rural crime for the force, said: “The last 12 months have been challenging times for our farming and rural communities – economic uncertainty, flooding and feeding the nation under lock-down. During this time, offenders have sought to continue their activities in fields across Lincolnshire, with hare coursers travelling significant distances to trespass, cause damage and intimidate local people.

“Our approach under Operation Galileo last season was to focus on Prevention – stopping the offences from happening, making use of tactics that really impact on offenders.

“We have been able to seize dogs and have them forfeited at court – this continues to be the sanction that has greatest impact and makes Lincolnshire an unattractive place for offenders to visit. We are working with partners to secure a change in the law, that give Courts the powers they need to appropriately deal with hare coursing.

“A total of 1048 incidents, from September 2019 to March 2020, is the second lowest on record, but every incident is one too many and we will continue to adapt our working – the only acceptable level is zero.

“I’m hugely grateful for the support we have had from partners in the NFU, CLA and other local organisations – We have encouraged local communities to report suspicious behaviour at the earliest opportunity, and it is that information that has been key to us getting ahead of offenders.

“We have made use of technology – drones and farmers are routinely passing locations to our Control Room and giving the “What3 Words” location – that has helped us put our officers in the right place, and is a good example of us all changing our practices to prevent crime.”

Lincolnshire Police has led and coordinated the Top 12 Hare Coursing forces across the country with Operation Galileo.