Hampshire Police are ramping up their efforts to combat rural crime after offenders target isolated communities, farms, and wildlife across the county.
During the darker autumn and winter months, burglaries and thefts of power tools, quad bikes, and farm machinery have been on the rise, along with illegal poaching and hare coursing.
Last week, several farms near Stratfield Saye and rural Basingstoke were burgled. In response, Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya joined officers on a proactive operation aimed at disrupting these criminals.
The operation, which ran overnight into the early hours of January 10, was led by the specialist Country Watch team, with support from Surrey Police, neighbourhood policing, armed response and dog units.
Patrols covered rural towns, villages, estates, and country roads across East Hampshire, Basingstoke, Test Valley, Winchester, and Hart.
During the patrols, officers responded to reports of suspicious individuals at a fishery on the River Test. They found two teenage boys trespassing on nearby farmland in East Wellow, where they discovered two dead hares in a bag. Further investigations are underway.
In another part of the county, officers pursued a silver Honda CR-V suspected of being involved in recent burglaries. The vehicle evaded capture and was later found burnt out. Meanwhile, stop checks were carried out on vehicles in rural areas, with one vehicle seized for driving without a license and another issued a warning for speeding on icy roads.
Inspector Cath MacDonald said: “Catching criminals involved in this type of offending is just half the battle. Whilst no arrests were made on the night of this operation, the heightened visible police presence assisted in disrupting the activities of a suspicious vehicle in South Warnborough for example, and undoubtedly prevented further offending.
“Prevention is just as important, as we know the significant impact that rural crime is having on our communities living in these remote areas. Stopping it from happening in the first place goes some way in minimising the harm that is being caused.
“We will be conducting further operations of this nature, whilst also continuing to investigate any crimes reported and develop the intelligence picture around the people and vehicles involved.
“The public are key to helping us do this, and it was fantastic to see people from rural communities such as gamekeepers and estate security managers offering their support to police on the night of this operation.
“Country Watch regularly engage with landowners, farmers, gamekeepers and other members of the rural community as part of their role. We want to ensure the community are as much a part of our efforts to bring the fight to criminals as police and partners are.
“Please keep reporting information you have to us. Whether this relates to suspicious individuals or vehicles, burnt out vehicles or other unusual vehicles left on farmland, or information about crimes. Every piece of information you provide to us strengthens our intelligence picture and our ability to disrupt the people involved in crime.”
Police encourage residents to report any suspicious activity. Information can be shared by calling 101 or in emergencies, dialling 999.