Three new Ford Rangers have been added to Lincs Rural Crime’s armoury as they set to tackle hare coursers again over the next few months.
With the hare coursing season about to begin again, Lincolnshire Police’s
Operation Galileo has been relaunched for 2018-19.
Last year saw the number of related incidents fall 30 per cent from 1.965 in 2016/17 to 1,365.
The force was able to seize 76 dogs used by criminals to chase and kill hares.
This was down to working closer with rural communities and the use of new technology and tactics to prevent offending, including drones with thermal imaging capability.
The drones return to the force’s fleet to tackle rural crime this season, along with quadbikes and Ford Kugas which the force uses flexibly respond to incidents.
This season, three Ford Rangers join the ranks, with greater capacity to safely hold seized dogs and more power to tackle the most treacherous rural terrains.
Superintendent Phil Vickers, the force’s new lead for rural crime, said: “We are in good shape for this season with new vehicles and our drones can now be deployed 24/7 as more officers have been trained to fly them.
“Last season was very positive and we are looking at building on that while also improving our efforts to fight other rural crimes such as thefts of machinery and
dangerous driving.
“People who live in our rural communities play a vital part in helping us gather intelligence and now CrimeStoppers have launched a number just for reporting rural crimes for people who wish to remain anonymous.
“Please report information, however insignificant you might think it is, as it may help us piece together a crime and prevent others from becoming victims.”
Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones said: “I made a commitment to
ensure our force has the right tools for the job to combat these gangs and we have
already made great strides in that area.
“The behaviour of these organised criminals from across the country goes far beyond the illegal act of hunting hares with dogs and can involve
significant risk of serious harm to our community and will not be tolerated in Lincolnshire.
“The police are more operationally ready for these criminals than ever before and the work the Chief Constable and I have done to ensure the criminal justice system understands the gravity of these crimes will support them in keeping our communities safer than ever.
“The message is simple, Lincolnshire is not a safe place for criminals of any kind and if you come here to course then expect to leave your dogs in our care and have the full weight of the law used against you.”
