THE BIG INTERVIEW: New tactics form view of new force lead on rural crime in Lincolnshire

Superintendent (Supt) Phil Vickers has inherited the role of force lead on rural crime for Lincolnshire Police at a time of cautious optimism in the county.

Reports of hare coursing, the illegal hunting of hares by criminal gangs who usually trespass on farmland with greyhounds, lurchers and other breeds, fell by 25 per cent in South Holland and Boston between September 2017 and March 2018.

Compare that to three years ago when, during an NFU meeting in Spalding, a South Holland farmer told police: "We're under siege while the police are a laughing stock and I think you need to up your game because the hare coursers are running rings around you."

In 2015-16, the hare coursing "season" when the meeting about Operation Galileo (Lincolnshire Police's efforts to tackle rural crime in the county) was held, nearly 1,200 incidents were reported in South Holland and Boston.

Two seasons later, just over 750 reports were received by Lincolnshire Police as the first year of a new Rural Community Safety Strategy begun to have an effect under the leadership of Supt Mark Housley and the now retired Chief Inspector Jim Tyner.

Supt Vickers said: "Mark and Jim handed over Operation Galileo in a pretty good state, having reduced the number of incidents across the county.

"Personally, I attribute that to the new tactics they were using and the new equipment they had available to intercept offenders.

"The positive thing from that was the feedback we got from farmers and the rural county about the reduction in hare coursing incidents that we saw last season.

"However, there's a real challenge for us around the vulnerability of rural communities and we are clear that South Holland, South Kesteven and Boston Borough areas will be our greatest focus and concern when it comes to incidents of hare coursing in the county.

"We'll continue to work with the NFU and Country Land and Business Association to bring hare coursing down further, using some new tactics and tools we've never used before."

The use of all-terrain vehicles, thermal imaging cameras and drones will still be available to Supt Vickers and the Operation Galileo team this season, as will a specialist team of analysts who help to identify hare coursing "hotspots" in south-east Lincolnshire for police to target during regular "days of action".

New tools this season include three Ford Rangers, with greater capacity to hold dogs seized from coursing gangs, and cross-county operations which will see police from Lincolnshire work with their counterparts from Cambridgeshire and Norfolk Constabularies to confront gangs before they enter this county.

Supt Vickers said: "With regards to Operation Galileo, the hare coursing season has started a little earlier than usual, due to the weather having been particularly good.

"We had the first instance of hare coursing near Grantham last Monday when the victim reported that their vehicle had been damaged and its tyres slashed.

"But it's important for the South Holland community to know that we're being proactive so that, as and when we can, we'll provide information about the place we have gone to outside the county where we've made arrests and seized dogs.

"We known that people travel significant distances to be involved in hare coursing and we'll still be doing the reactive work when we receive reports of incidents taking place.

"But the bit that we want to add on to Operation Galileo is the proactive approach when we already know the people who come into the county.

"My aim is to prevent offenders using the road, in terms of driving and documentation, and we have arrangements in place with the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service where we can prosecute people for other offences before they can go about hare coursing."

Supt Vickers himself joined Lincolnshire Police in 1996, starting his career as a response and patrol officer in Skegness.

The Grantham-educated police officer moved to Lincoln in 1999 and was promoted to the rank of sergeant two years later.

He became an Inspector in 2004, working in Lincoln, North Kesteven and West Lindsey, before heading community safety in East Lindsey in 2008.

Supt Vickers said: "There are a variety of issues causing rural communities to feel vulnerable, including thefts of farm equipment, vehicles and heating oil, flytipping and hare coursing which does come to the fore at this time of year.

"But rural crime also carries over into the likes of domestic abuse because we know that if someone is a victim of it in a rural environment, it will take longer for them to seek help and support.

"My remit as force lead on rural crime is a pretty wide one, starting with hare coursing and other public justice offences.

"Drawing on my background in policing, I'm drawn towards collecting intelligence and information, as well as working with the community because people who come to Lincolnshire to commit crime will brag about it on social media and in pubs.

"That's why we work with Crimestoppers in encouraging people to give us information about people committing crime in Lincolnshire."

In the ten years prior to him becoming force lead on ruarl crime, Supt Vickers was a project manager with the East Midlands Operational Support Service, a partnership involving four East Midlands police forces to tackle road accidents, armed policing, firearms training, missing persons' cases and terrorism.

Supt Vickers also had a spell as assistant director for safer communities in Lincolnshire which involved trading standards, domestic abuse, youth crime and coroners' services.

In preparation for his current role, Supt Vickers was made head of neighbourhood policing for South Holland, Boston Borough and East Lindsey last summer.

South Holland will now occupy a lot more of his time, in terms of rural crime, and Supt Vickers said: "My commitment to the people of South Holland is this.

"We'll continue to provide information about the work we're doing, especially when we go out of the county to arrest people before they come into Lincolnshire.

"My focus will always be on preventing offences and I recognise the value of being clear, open and honest with communities to achieve that.

"I believe that the more people understand what we're doing, the more people will be reassured by what we're doing."