Police have been accused of wasting their time targeting hare coursing when they should be attending burglaries instead. Wantage Pcs Darren James and Marc Lester were singled out by the Self Help for Farmers Group in an attack against police spending too much time on "animal crime".
The SHG criticised Operation Migrate, claiming the officers should not be patrolling the countryside looking for hare coursing but concentrate on investigating assaults and burglaries instead.
The group also claimed policing priorities were being set by the RSPCA — an allegation refuted by Thames Valley Police.
Pc James said Operation Migrate involved more than just tackling hare coursers.
He added: "My role is not solely focused on hare coursing. As a neighbourhood specialist officer, it's my job to tackle the crimes and problems highlighted by our communities.
"In this way, we get many complaints by local landowners about hare coursers operating illegally on their land and causing damage to their properties and it's our duty to deal with this illegal activity.
"Also, Operation Migrate is not primarily for hare coursing but is about us tackling all kinds of rural crime in the Wantage area, such as metal theft, criminal damage and farm burglaries.
"While we work closely with them, it's completely incorrect to suggest that our policing priorities are dictated by the RSPCA."
The SHG was formed by a group of farmers to campaign against what they see as RSPCA campaigns affecting people who live in the countryside.
They criticised Pcs James and Lester, claiming they were two examples of officers who were concentrating on the wrong types of crime, after they featured in an Oxford Mail report on the hare coursing operation two weeks ago.
Spokesman Anne Kasica said: "We now have far too many demands on the time and resources of the police.
"One of their biggest problems is that highly funded animal rights campaign groups, such as the RSPCA, put intense pressure on the police to concentrate on more minor offences, instead of dealing with burglaries and assaults.
"We need to know how police priorities are decided. Surely the main priority must be community safety, not assisting the RSPCA."
Pc James said policing priorities were set during Neighbourhood Action Group meetings made up of residents, councillors and other members of the public.
Neighbourhood Sgt for Hungerford, Andy Bone, said: “All hare coursing is illegal in this country and yet there are people who still participate in the activity.
“They are nothing but a nuisance to local farmers. They damage crops, fences and buildings and are very often in breach of various traffic laws. The hare coursers are also illegally using The Ridgeway.
“Hare coursing happens in an area which borders both Oxfordshire and West Berkshire which is why we are doing this operation jointly.
“We are also able to cover a greater area with more officers enabling us to provide a visible presence and increase our ability to arrest as many offenders as possible.
“Anybody caught hare coursing will be arrested and their vehicles and dogs will be seized. We are working jointly with the RSPCA actively patrolling the areas targeting those responsible.
“Operation Oust will be running right through to Spring 2009 and will involve a team of up to 20 officers working together to put a stop to this activity.”
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/headlines/3779689.Hare_coursing_patrols____a_waste_of_time___/
http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/headlines/3780883.Police_crack_down_on_hare_coursing/
http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/3783931.Police_refute_group_s_criticisms/
7 comments:
On the one hand, the police say that their countryside operations are not targeting hunting, but "other countryside crime". Then they say that 20 officers are working with the RSPCA to launch a third operation targetting hare coursing. I, for one, don't feel safer in my bed as a result of Keystone Cops driving around the countryside in Landrover Defenders with expensive police choppers overhead. The funding problems in the police are directly referable to the abject waste of resources which these comedians - with the connivance of the same animal-rights activists who used to fill our courts before New Labout - are engaging in. Why not chase-up villains and hoodies who make pensioners' lives hell? Would that be too much like the proper police work which we thought we were paying for?
Chris Newman, says...
9:31am Wed 22 Oct 08
It would indeed appear to be the case that the police prioritise responses to the RSPCA over other case. Recently my son was assaulted which required hospital treatment, the police took three weeks to come and take a statement! However, when the RSPCA reported some pet rabbits ‘may’ be uncomfortable they sent 5 police officers to investigate immediately!
Last week a pet rabbit died, old age, as the body of the rabbit had been placed back in its hutch to await the return of the children from school so the family pet could be buried the police sent 2 officers to investigate and seize the body on the behalf of the RSPCA!
Are the above incidents isolated cases! No, they are today common place. Recently the police entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the police – why?
Yes hare coursing is a crime, so is muggings, murdered and burglary - personally I would prefer the police to prioritise crimes that directly affect people. After all human rights take priority over animals rights – don’t they!
"Foxy Lady" has a point, when she says that these absurd "police" look like "fools" in The Mail's comical photos of them in front of one of their Landrover Defenders. Every country man and woman still knows knows that hare coursing is not a problem for farmers and it is disingenuous to suggest that these "hare coursing patrols" are anything other than work against the countryside for the RSPCA. When was the last time that the police did anything other than send out a "victim of crime" letter when a farm was robbed? "Foxy Lady" is also wrong when she tries to suggest that the SHG is a pro-hunting organisation. It isn't and many of the thousands of people it has helped over two decades are animal rescuers, vegans and vegetarians. What - as Frank Field MP recently observed on the BBC's "File on 4" - all these people have in common is an attack by a disgusting organisation like the RSPCA. The RSPCA can't be bothered to turn up when animals really need them, but when there's a camera around, to help them pay huge sums in index-linked pensions to fat-cat lawyers, they are there mob-handed. A lot of good people work for, and get crushed, by the RSPCA's Headquarters Charity. Make sure that you are not one of them."Foxy Lady" has a point, when she says that these absurd "police" look like "fools" in The Mail's comical photos of them in front of one of their Landrover Defenders. Every country man and woman still knows knows that hare coursing is not a problem for farmers and it is disingenuous to suggest that these "hare coursing patrols" are anything other than work against the countryside for the RSPCA. When was the last time that the police did anything other than send out a "victim of crime" letter when a farm was robbed? "Foxy Lady" is also wrong when she tries to suggest that the SHG is a pro-hunting organisation. It isn't and many of the thousands of people it has helped over two decades are animal rescuers, vegans and vegetarians. What - as Frank Field MP recently observed on the BBC's "File on 4" - all these people have in common is an attack by a disgusting organisation like the RSPCA. The RSPCA can't be bothered to turn up when animals really need them, but when there's a camera around, to help them pay huge sums in index-linked pensions to fat-cat lawyers, they are there mob-handed. A lot of good people work for, and get crushed, by the RSPCA's Headquarters Charity. Make sure that you are not one of them.
It would indeed appear to be the case that the police prioritise responses to the RSPCA over other case. Recently my son was assaulted which required hospital treatment, the police took three weeks to come and take a statement! However, when the RSPCA reported some pet rabbits ‘may’ be uncomfortable they sent 5 police officers to investigate immediately!
Last week a pet rabbit died, old age, as the body of the rabbit had been placed back in its hutch to await the return of the children from school so the family pet could be buried the police sent 2 officers to investigate and seize the body on the behalf of the RSPCA!
Are the above incidents isolated cases! No, they are today common place. Recently the police entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the police – why?
Yes hare coursing is a crime, so is muggings, murdered and burglary - personally I would prefer the police to prioritise crimes that directly affect people. After all human rights take priority over animals rights – don’t they!
cant get the cops out where i live if you dial 999, no wonder they are off wasting time trying to catch hare coursers
wot a waste of police time, hare coursing is not at the top of the social agenda as a number 1 crime, what about theft, assault, mugging, fraud, antisocial behaviour, domestic violence, the list is massive, come on police tell the rspca to bugger off and get on with something usefull.
No, the police should be involved. Hare coursing is barbaric and has been illegal for many years. You can't just ask them to ignore the laws that suit you. A crime is a crime and animal crime in this country is being glossed over far too often.
I'm no fan of the RSPCA as an organisation. The guys on the ground do a good job in difficult circumstance but HQ and the call centre are dire and need to be reigned in. In this case however, they are, for once, doing what they're supposed to do; protecting animals from the scum who think it's their right to torture anything with fur and 4 legs.
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