Operation Galileo

Operation Galileo is a national operation tackling hare coursing and poaching.

Our rural crime team have increased patrols and work closely with the farming community, and other partners, to catch hare coursers.

We’ve built tight links with rural communities, which have helped build intelligence around where hare coursers and poachers operate, and sometimes who the poachers are.

Background

Some criminals will travel hundreds of miles to be involved and are often associated with organised crime gangs. Our rural crime team work closely with neighbouring forces to disrupt and deter cross border criminal activity together.

What can you do

If you have any information or have seen something that doesn’t seem quite right, please report it to us. Your information could give us the missing piece to the puzzle.

Call 999 if a crime is in progress, or 101 if it's not an emergency.

Please provide as much information as you have, such as vehicles used, how many offenders, and if they have firearms. Give as good a location as you can, especially at night – consider using the ‘what three words’ grid reference to pinpoint the offenders' location.

Meeting your rural crime team

We believe it’s vitally important that we are accessible to the communities we police. As such, our rural crime team attend many local events and meetings where you can speak with them face-to-face, as well as regularly updating our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter & Instagram). We can also meet you individually, if required.

You can come and see us in person at our engagement events which we hold in a van! Details of when and where the van will be can be found on our social media platforms:

• @DorsetPoliceRuralCrimeTeam - Facebook
• @RuralCrimeTeam - Twitter
• @dorsetpoliceruralcrimeteam - Instagram

To come and speak with us at a local event or meeting, please see the Get Involved section on our various channels.