Operation Hawkeye launched by police in the North East

A POLICE operation to crackdown on rural crime such as poaching and trespassing will see police use new tools against crooks.

Operation Hawkeye involves police forces from across the region sharing intelligence on those who commit rural crime.

And now Durham Constabulary is using a type of legislation called Community Protection Warnings (CPWs) and Community Protection Notices (CPNs) to fight criminals who come to the force area.

The CPWs and CPNs help officers deal with those suspected of committing rural and wildlife crime instead of relying on the more traditional poaching and trespass legislation which can be difficult to prove in a court of law.

The move follows a joint survey with the NFU North East in which rural residents said trespassing and poaching were one of the top five concerns along with speeding, fly-tipping and machinery theft.

The CPWs and CPNs can be issued to anyone over 16 if an officer is satisfied on reasonable grounds that they have been involved in conduct that is having a detrimental effect, of a persistent and continuing nature, on the quality of life of those in the locality, and the conduct is unreasonable.

Once a suspect is issued a CPW, their details are taken and if stopped again, a CPN is given which, if broken, means they can then be prosecuted through the courts.