Farming families response to a survey carried out by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society

[Ranger Security Solutions]

An interesting article, from the Rural Crime Network, regarding a rural crime survey by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. Clearly indicating a lack of confidence and satisfaction in the police.

Link: Impact of hare coursing revealed by farming families - National Rural Crime Network

The highest number of hare coursing incidents were reported from farmers in North Yorkshire and East Yorkshire but evidence of the crime was shared from as far afield as Aberdeenshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Northern Ireland.

The survey also provides troubling insights into the confidence farmers have in the police.

In more than one in four hare coursing cases (29%) the farmer did not call the police. The most common reason for not doing so was that the farmer did not think the police would respond in a timely fashion.

When police were called, their response was rated as satisfactory by just 18% of farmers. Farmers reported inconsistent responses when reporting the crime was taking place.

Most of the time (87%), the police call handler confirmed that officers were being dispatched to the scene but 88% failed to offer their estimated time of arrival. When an ETA was given, officers rarely attended within the given timeframe (28%).

The importance of tackling hare coursing is clear for farming families’ well-being and the profitability of their businesses. In almost half of all cases (48%) farmers were either threatened or verbally assaulted. One respondent said they had been physically attacked.

Overwhelmingly, hare coursing results in criminal damage (86% of cases). Crop damage was the most widely reported (45%), followed by damaged fences and hedges (11%).

And,

Farmers are doing what they can to deter hare coursing. Some 81% of farmers said they had taken action, such as installing extra gates and security cameras, and creating earth banks and ditches to keep criminals out of fields, and all this has come at great cost.

One in five farmers said they had spent at least £5,000 on repairing damage or taking preventative action in the last three years. For 7% of farmers, this bill has exceeded £10,000.

More than half (54%) of farmers said they had raised the issue with the police or their MP.

An important point, regardless of attitude towards the police, is to report any crime - initially to the police in the first instance, and to any rural organisation that you belong to (NFU, CLA, etc.). Having apathy towards reporting rural crime will be counter-productive. For things to change for the better, the scale of the problem has to be clearly recognised and completely understood. The government is clinical, working almost exclusively in facts and figures; and only by reporting incidents can the numbers be added up, issues identified, and funding prioritised.