What is the Rural Community Action Team?

The Rural Community Action Team (RCAT) is a forcewide resource who deal specifically with crime and disorder in the rural areas of Cambridgeshire. The team is made up of police officers and community support officers who are committed to dealing with issues that affect rural communities. These can include anything from the theft of £100,000 tractors to dealing with illegal raves.

RCAT was established in August 2004 as a response to the issue of hare coursing in rural areas of the county. Moreover, the RCAT is now seen as a specialist neighbourhood police team for the rural community of Cambridgeshire. Their strengths lie in their links with the rural community and their ability to engage with this community face-to-face on a daily basis. With officers dedicated to wildlife crime, RCAT are also specialists in the prevention of wildlife destruction.

The team covers the whole of Cambridgeshire, with the exception of the major urban centres which very often does not call for their expertise. That means the team cover an area of over 3000 km2.

So what does a Rural Community Action Team do?

It’s a common question, and one that’s often asked. It’s not easy to define as it depends on what time of year or even what time of day it is. Over the summer months the team spend their time dealing with stolen diesel or misappropriated metal and illegal raves because these are the things that most affect the rural and farming communities when the weather is warm.

Autumn in Cambridgeshire brings the hare coursing season. Illegal coursing has long been a problem for the police all over the country as it is known to be associated with other forms of criminality such as farm equipment theft and distraction burglary. The RCAT deals with all of these matters and more over the course of the year.

The county is fortunate in having a dedicated team who are able to focus their efforts on tracking down and dealing with rural criminals. The team make it their business not only to know where illegal coursers play their trade, but also where they meet up beforehand and where they compare notes afterwards.

RCAT have a fleet of bespoke 4x4 vehicles which perfectly match the go-anywhere, do-anything lifestyle that comes with rural crime. We are also supported by the air operations unit for those moments when we need a birds eye view.

RCAT Successes 2010

In October 2010 11 people were arrested after a joint operation with the Air Operations Unit to catch hare coursers. This brings the total number of people arrested for hare coursing in 2010 up to 23. 56 people were caught by police last year.

On 4 October 2010, the RCAT team along with officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) carried out an operation to target motorists using illegal fuel. Over 250 vehicles were stopped and tested at the roadside. One vehicle was found to be illegally using red diesel and one was illegally using the heating oil Kerosene.

HMRC seized both vehicles on the spot and interviewed the drivers. The vehicles were only handed back to the driver after an on the spot (cash or credit card) fine of £500 each. This also comes with certain conditions that the vehicles fuel system must be cleaned of the illegal fuel within 24 hours and HMRC will re-inspect the vehicle sometime in the future.

In addition to this 3000 vehicles were checked using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). 56 vehicles were stopped and spoken to in relation to motoring offences or problems with the vehicle and 7 drugs searches were carried out.