Useful information: Importance of reporting incidents/crimes

Just a reminder that it is really important you report any crimes or suspicious incidents to us.  This can be either via 999 or the 101 phone number, via our web site, or personally at a police station or to an officer in the street.  Only by reporting the crime/incident can we be aware of it. 

Once we are aware we may not be able to do anything about it immediately but the report will form part of a wider picture which helps inform where we direct officers to patrol and focus activity. 

So please take the time to report a crime/incident in the knowledge your time is not wasted.

Poaching updates

The hare coursing season is now at its seasonal end and we now have a clear picture of this last season’s activity across the force as a whole

Summary of results:

• Between 1 August 2018 and 2 April 2019 there have been a total of 332 reports regarding day time hare coursing.  During the previous season 2017 to 2018 the number was 508 reports from 01 August 2017 to late April 2018.
• In all 21 dedicated days of action have been undertaken during the past season.
• 1,500 officer hours worked across these dedicated days. This does not take into account hours worked by officers defaulting to hot spot areas as part of their normal duties and responding to reports.
• 35% reduction in reported incidents.
• 60% of reports have been deployed to by officers. This is a vast improvement on previous years and helped by the re deployment of response officers to rural stations.
• 153 x suspected hare coursers have been stopped by the police. Some of these have been stopped on more than one occasion. This is at least 90 more than the previous season and causes them significant disruption.122 x Fairway reports submitted to East Riding Yorkshire Council.
• 58 x Section 35 dispersal notices issued.
• 70 x Dogs scanned
• 9 x Lurcher type dogs seized with 3 being rehomed

We intend to keep the pressure up in the coming seasons and are constantly looking at innovative ways of tackling the problem. Criminal Protection Notices and the scanning of dogs’ microchips offer some great opportunities to tackle the issue.

There are some landowners who continue to suffer repeated incursions by hare coursers and it is these areas we will continue to concentrate our activity the most.

A number of these landowners have provided us with some very positive feedback and have noticed our determination to tackle this type of crime in their communities and have commented that they have noticed a reduction in incidents.

This update relates only to day time hare coursing and does not include other poaching related offences which are of concern in a number of areas, particularly the issue of illegal lamping activity at night and the associated damage caused by the vehicles used being driven over crops.

Operation Zodiac is aimed at this area of wildlife crime and we will be increasing our efforts to tackle this issue using many of the tactics used during Operation Galileo.