No arrests made during large-scale rural crime operation in Hampshire

No offences were identified when police carried out a large-scale and proactive overnight operation in North Hampshire to target rural criminals.

Members of Hampshire Police’s country watch team partnered up with officers from Tadley, Basingstoke, Winchester, Yateley and Aldershot, as well as officers from Surrey Police, firearms officers and the dog unit to carry out the exercise.

The operation – which ran overnight from Thursday, February 27, into the early hours of Friday, February 28 – covered a vast area of the county with focused patrol activity in rural Basingstoke and Hart, Test Valley and east Hampshire.

Police were attempting to disrupt offenders who are usually active under the cover of darkness at this time of year, targeting fields, isolated communities, and rural estates to commit crimes such as burglary, hare coursing and poaching.

A number of vehicles and individuals were stopped and searched out in isolated rural areas during the operation, but no offences were identified.

Police stated that “deterrence is key to keeping rural communities safe” and they were “pleased” that there were no calls for officers to deal with any criminal activity during the operation.

Inspector Cath MacDonald said: “We’re starting to see a steady decline in reports of offences such as poaching and hare coursing, however we will not be complacent as we know these criminals are still active in Hampshire and over the county borders.

“These offenders relentlessly target and intimidate innocent people who live and work in rural areas, and these crimes can seriously impact their livelihoods.

“The country watch team use intelligence to track and monitor the nature of crimes being reported to us, and map the hotspot areas so we can target our patrols and operations.

“This continues as the seasons change, and offenders change their tactics or switch their focus.

“As such, we will continuously carry out proactive operations throughout the year to stop criminals in their tracks and prevent offences occurring in the first place.

Insp MacDonald encouraged any residents with potential information about a crime to get in contact with police as it better helps the force catch criminals that operate in rural areas.

She added: “The more we know, the stronger our intelligence picture and our ability to disrupt the people involved in crime will be.”