Graham is celebrating tough sentences being passed on three hare coursers in Beverley Magistrates’ Court.
Three men: John Langan, Shane Hooton and Joseph Foster appeared in Beverley Magistrates Court on 9th October for sentences after pleading guilty to trespass and going equipped to trespass with intent to search for or pursue hares with dogs. A further man, Dean Adams, failed to appear in court and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The sentences included Humberside Police’s first suspended prison sentence for hare coursing and longest Criminal Behaviour Order and fines and costs totalling £1,809.
This comes following tightened up new legislation and sentencing guidelines for hare coursing, long campaigned for by Graham.
This successful prosecution of out of area criminals who come into East Yorkshire intent on committing crimes shows the high-quality work of Humberside Police’s Rural Crime Team, who Graham spent time with in September. The team has helped reduce instances of hare coursing across the East Riding by around 40%.
Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said: “We need to come down hard on all rural crime, and I’m delighted that the tough new powers we gave police back in May 2022 are making a difference.
“These sentences make the message to potential hare coursers clear: don’t even try it in the East Riding. Our Rural Crime Team is waiting for you, and you will receive tough sentences.”
Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison said: “The impact of hare coursing is a blight to our rural communities.
“We need to ensure that farmers and local residents know it is a crime taken very seriously in our region.
“This sentencing shows that anyone who is planning on coming to the Humber region to commit rural crime will be pursued and brought to justice.”
