LINCOLNSHIRE POLICE AWARDS CEREMONY

CITATION

Certificates of Chief Constable’s Commendation
RECIPIENTS:
Constable Martin Green
Constable James Perring
Chief Inspector James Tyner
Constable Nicholas Willey

In 2016/17 Lincolnshire Policereceived over 2,200 reports of hare coursing incidents across the county.

Hare coursing is perpetrated by people who have little consideration for the welfare of their own dogs or of the hare,nor do they respect the rights of others living in the rural community. These individuals are often abusive, offer violence, drive recklessly and cause significant damage to property and land.

We know that many hare coursers areinvolved in other criminality and frequently take the opportunity whilst in the county to research and record opportunities for furthercrime. They are very unpleasant people doing really unpleasant things and are not welcome in Lincolnshire.

In December 2017 a meeting was held in which many of the victims of this crime, supported by a number of MPs,asked of the Chief Constable that Lincolnshire Police intervene and make a difference. As a result of this meeting a new approach to the issue of hare coursing was developed. The real challenge was to tackle a complex and geographically challenging issue within existing resources.

Operation Galileo was borne and challenged how we do business, delivering many innovative and creative ways of working. This included investment in vehicles, drones, training and equipment through to how we intervene and manage offenders through the Criminal Justice System. This year, the operation has resulted in a significant reduction in offences (circa 30%). As a result of this, other forces have visitedLincolnshire with a view to understanding what we have done to achieve this and more importantly, how we have made our rural communitiesfeel safer and protected.

None of this could have been achieved withoutMartin, James, Jim or Nick. Throughout the year they have led on 35 days of action targeting offenders; they have also led in respect of developing new and innovative approaches to how we employ legislation, seeking to seize the dogs, phones, cars, driving licences and money from offenders to disrupt them, as well as having them excluded from Lincolnshire.

The Rural Crime Team have helped develop how we more effectively engage with farmers using ‘whatsapp’ application, they havetrained officers across the force aroundthe relevant legislation and its practical application and they have been on call and made themselves available to anyone who might need help.

They have supported much of the media work, allowing themselves to be filmed whilst tackling some very unpleasant and intimidating people. These officers have all gone well beyond what would normally be expected. Without the commitment and dedication of these officers, we would not have seen the reduction in offences that we have done, which has resulted in fewer victims of this type of crime across the county.

The Chief Constable is pleased to ask Rachel Watson to present Certificates of Chief Constable’s Commendation to Constable Martin Green, Constable James Perring, Chief Inspector James Tyner and Constable Nick Willey.

CONSTABLE MARTIN GREEN

CONSTABLE JAMES PERRING

CHIEF INSPECTOR JIM TYNER

CONSTABLE NICHOLAS WILLEY

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Force Awards Ceremony – 24 April 2018