Officers showcase rural crime campaign

Cracking down on inconsiderate drivers, meet and greets and school talks were all on the agenda for the force’s dedicated rural crime team during a national week of action.

Cambridgeshire’s Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) highlighted rural crime and the impact it can have on communities as part of National Rural Crime Action Week.

Sergeant Tom Nuttall said: “Rural crime is an issue for large areas of the country, including Cambridgeshire, but it tends to go unreported. It can impact on insurance premiums, food prices and damage local communities.

“We work hard throughout the year with partner agencies to prevent this type of crime; last week provided an opportunity to highlight the work we do every week.”

Activities during the week included a day of action with enforcement agencies on the Essex and Hertfordshire borders (M11 and A120), where more than 25 cars were stopped.

The team found a stolen car, inspected agricultural equipment to ensure it wasn’t stolen, issued traffic offence reports, seized two vehicles, checked vehicles for defects and caught 44 motorists driving without tax.

Tuesday’s efforts saw RCAT officers team up with City of London Police and their horses in Helpston, Peterborough, to test whether drivers were acting correctly when passing the animals.

A total of 16 motorists were stopped for driving inconsiderately; three of them were issued with traffic offence reports and 13 others were given words of advice and the British Horse Society.

Officers gave a talk about rural crime to Benwick and Needingworth primary schools to pupils in years 3 to 6 on Wednesday.

Two meet and greet events were held later in the week, in Coates and Farcet, where RCAT officers gave crime prevention advice and handed out tool marking kits for agricultural equipment together with Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston.

Sergeant Nuttall added: “We would like to thank all those who took the time to engage with us throughout the week.

“Our meet and greet events are not just a one off - members of the public can get crime prevention advice from us first hand and also raise any rural crime concerns they have by setting up a meeting with us. They can do this by emailing [email protected]. You can also follow the team on X @CambsRuralCops.”

National Farmers’ Union regional policy manager for the East, Charles Hesketh, said rural crime remained a huge issue for farmers up and down Cambridgeshire, despite strong work from the police to deter and prosecute thieves.

He added: “The NFU has had real success in strengthening legislation but more work is needed to deter offenders and to help officers with intelligence gathering – so reporting incidents and suspicious behaviour remains key.

“Farmers, the police and policymakers must continue to work together at a local and national level to build a structure that will prevent rural crime, underpinned by solid legislation.

“We continue to see machinery, vehicle, GPS unit, fuel and livestock thefts but it is also important to remember that the nature of rural crime is changing, especially as more criminals have access to new technologies.

“With more business transactions happening online, we also need to adapt and it’s great to see police forces developing more robust cybercrime teams.”

Cambridgeshire’s PCC Darryl Preston said National Rural Crime Action Week offered the chance to stand together with rural communities, working hand-in-hand to keep people safe and allow rural businesses to thrive.

He added: “As a county which is 91 per cent rural land and 77 per cent of the land is farmed, it’s vital we listen to community concerns.

“It’s great that the week enables us to strengthen bonds with residents and show them all the RCAT initiatives and dedicated rural patrols to protect our countryside throughout the year.”

There are many useful ways to protect your property, land, and livestock from rural crime.

For more information visit the force’s dedicated rural crime web page.