Hare coursing in 2013 down ‘roughly 40 per cent’ on last year, police reveal

The local force has been running a crackdown in recent years - called Operation Galileo - in an attempt to combat the crime.

And, with the 2013 hare coursing ‘season’ now about halfway, police have revealed that figures show a fall in the crime.

The total number of incidents recorded between September 1 and November 21 last year was 466. Over the same period this year only 282 incidents were reported.

The total number of prosecutions has also dropped, very slightly, from 58 last year, to 54 in 2013.

Roughly half of the incidents this season have been in the south of the county and police have responded with greater focus on that area. This has resulted in roughly half the prosecutions so far this season being from that area.

Inspector Andy Ham said: “The level of public support has been excellent. Public feedback tells us that the efforts of the Galileo team are really appreciated and we’re received many letters of appreciation, urging us to maintain our commitment.

“We are certainly not being complacent, and I would ask people to continue to contact police if they see people acting suspiciously in their area.

“We really do rely on the support of our communities and information from them in order to deal quickly and robustly with these offences.

“In rural areas those people who are either hare coursing or there to commit other crime really stand out.

“They are groups of men with dogs, and those men are in vehicles which are often dirty 4x4s. Locals will notice them. I would urge anyone to ring 101 quoting ‘Operation Galileo’ or ‘hare coursing’ and give any details, such as vehicle make, model, colour or preferably - registration number - which will help us to locate them.

“If anyone sees people actively coursing with dogs, that is a crime in action and people should ring 999”.