Police join forces to tackle hare coursing

Sgt Paul Brady said combining resources across force boundaries would make officers better placed to prevent offences

Police forces have joined together to better respond to hare coursing across county boundaries.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary has joined forces with Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) under Operation Galileo.

The response followed an incident in January when dozens of cars swept through Cambridgeshire farmland to chase hares, leaving a trail of destruction.

At the time, the former Cambridgeshire chief constable Nick Dean apologised at a public meeting for a "failure by the police" to deal with the hare coursers.

Hare coursing is the illegal pursuit of hares by dogs, which are judged by how closely they can follow an animal as it tries to escape.

When trespassing is involved as part of the activity, it can lead to the disruption of crops and damage to farmers' land.

Targeting offenders

The police initiative to tackle the illegal activity and associated rural crime was unveiled at Fowlmere Airstrip, Hertfordshire.

It promised enhanced patrols, intelligence sharing, aerial surveillance and working with farming communities.

Sgt Tom Nuttall, from the Cambridgeshire Police rural crime action team, said: "This joint initiative sends a clear message: we are not prepared to tolerate this behaviour.

"Borders do not protect offenders, and they do not restrict our ability to work together to stop them."

Sgt Kevin Flinn, from NPAS, added: "Air support is a valuable tool in identifying, tracking and gathering evidence of those involved in hare coursing.

"The offenders are a constant blight on rural communities which my team intend to deal with by targeting the offenders and ensuring they are locked up."