Knuckles' Guide to Hit and Run

So, for some reason you want to go in blasting and come out before they know whats hit em, right?
It's harder than it may seem, as often you'll find yourself up against a dozen craft rather than the small convoy you just attacked.

Scoping out the killing grounds..
In these situations, its best to know what your escape routes are. You could be looking for a lane and in the meantime more ships are chasing you and lining up their targetting scanners. So, find out some good escape routes, nearby lanes, debris fields or just empty space.

Cool-Off Period
Once you've got the authorities mad, they'll stay mad at you until you dock at a station. Remember, you won't be allowed to dock at a hostile planet or station, but you will be allowed to dock with hostile trade lanes and jumpgates.. so remember that.

Once you've docked somewhere, you can get back in your ship and return to the scene of the crime to find they've forgotten about your little outburst, but only as long as your reputation with them is either Neutral or Friendly.

Cruise Disruptors
If the locals carry Cruise Disruptors, you might find yourself unable to get away quickly. You can't do anything but maneuver and use afterburn during the cruise disruption period that follows a direct hit, and you'll only be able to travel at 80m/s.

Beating Cruise Disruptors versus NPCs - WARNING DO NOT USE THIS TACTIC AGAINST PLAYERS
If you are at Cruise Speed and see hostile NPCs nearby, find a safe direction to fly in and kill the engines. The game AI will not fire a CD at you if your engines are off. This is an exploit, but so is the ability to restart the engines with a CD, so it all works out :P

Looking out for Cruise Disruptors..
While cruising, if you are being pursued and then suddenly hear a missile warning, you might just have time to turn off your engines before the Cruise Disruptor hits. The trouble is that CD missiles are very, very fast, and you will have to have good reflexes to turn your engines off in time.

Most ships will let off a cruise disruptor within 1.5k of your position, although some fire closer to 2k, so if you don't want to risk waiting, you can kill your engines and turn to face your pursuers before they get a chance to fire a Disruptor.

Storage Depots - Hit n Run Training
By far the easiest way to get someone to hate you is to attack their storage depots. The more canisters you blow up on each depot, the less popular you'll get with the faction who owns it.

Once a depot becomes hostile to you (it turns red), you should do as much damage as you can and get out of there FAST, because nothing gets cops out like a depot attack, and you might be facing up to twelve or more police vehicles, including any allies if they happen to be close.

Be Careful of the Consequences..
Be warned, if you only want to make a faction Neutral, dont blow up a whole bunch of their depot containers, otherwise you might find that they become Hostile because you blew up too much of their stuff.

Make sure you check your reputation regularly to learn what effects your actions have on your notoriety. Tractor in anything valuable, don't blow up a supply depot or a couple ships and then run off without grabbing the loot because you panicked!

Final Word
Hit and Run is quick and dirty combat, you don't have time to mess around or be fancy, you just go in, get what you want, and get out. It's as simple as that.