News 18 March to 24 March
 "Cold, calculated" killer jailed for 37 years for murdering Mersea Island husband and wife.
Luke D'Wit, 34, of Churchfields, West Mersea has been given a life sentence with a minimum of 37 years in prison for murdering husband and wife Carol and Stephen Baxter.
 Thaxted: Man charged with murder
A 51-year-old man has been charged with murder following the death of a man in Thaxted. The man was found in a garden in Orchard Close in the town in the early hours of Monday 18 March.
 One of Essex Police's largest murder investigations continues
Activity around one of Essex Police’s largest murder investigations is continuing, in efforts to get justice for the Shakoor family from Harlow.
M25: Lorry driver four times over the limit sentenced
Gheorghe-daniel Cristea of High Street, Swanscombe, Kent, was sentenced for drink driving and dangerous driving when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday 18 March.
Speed enforcement in west of county catches over 140 speeding motorists
Over three days, week commencing 11 March, the Speed Enforcement officers focussed on reducing road collisions in Harlow, Epping Forest and Brentwood and identified 141 speeding motorists.
 Meet Detective Sergeant Jerott McCreath
Meet Detective Sergeant Jerott McCreath. Find out about his varied policing career and his advice to those looking to transfer to Essex Police.
Officers arrest 24 for shop theft last week
Across Essex in the week beginning Monday 11 March, our officers arrested 24 people on suspicion of shoplifting and secured 67 charges of shop theft.
Two people were also charged with assaulting of retail workers.
Another was jailed for a total of 52 weeks breaching a five-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) which banned him from entering a variety of stores across Southend and Westcliff.
At Southend Magistrates’ Court on Friday 15 March, James Butcher, 33, of no fixed address, admitted 12 counts of shop theft between 27 February and 12 March 2024 and breaching the CBO on ten occasions. It was imposed on 1 March 2023.
Three people were arrested in each of the Basildon, Chelmsford and Southend districts; two in each of the Braintree, Brentwood, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow and Tendring districts; and one in each of the Rochford and Thurrock districts between Monday 11 and Sunday 17 March. One person was arrested for offences out of the county.
In the past six months, our officers have made a total of 706 arrests for shop theft.
Road Crime Team arrest ten
Our Road Crime Team officers led teams from across the force in conducting high visibility patrols in a countywide effort to tackle road-related crime and road safety on Sunday 17 and Monday 18 March.
 Andrew Basford
Hockley: Speeding driver jailed for causing death of Andrew Basford
A speeding driver who caused the death of his passenger after he lost control of his car, has been jailed for 34 months. Matthew Clarke was driving his Mazda 3 car along Church Road, Hockley, on Friday 29 October 2021. Both he and his front seat passenger were on their way to work.
How targeted patrols are tackling violent crime across Essex
Targeted patrols in 15 hotspots across the county are helping to prevent violent crime and catch people carrying weapons.
Operation Grip sees uniformed offciers out on daily foot patrols in areas that data analysis shows have a higher probability of a serious violent incident taking place.
Four of the hotspots are in Southend, with three in Basildon, two in Colchester, and one in each of Chelmsford, Harlow, Clacton, Braintree, Grays and Brentwood.
In February, Grip patrols led to 32 arrests, 58 stop searches and the seizure of four weapons.
 Colchester: three bikes taken in burglary
Three bikes were taken during a burglary at a home in Colchester shortly before 4am on Thursday 7 March. In total, they were valued at £5,000. Have you been offered this bike for sale?
Anti-social behaviour falls by 64% in five years
There were 27,000 fewer offences committed in the year to the end of February compared the to same period in 2018/19.
 Let's talk
Upcoming community police events across Essex this week
Monday 25 March
10am to 11am
St Osyth Village Hall, Clacton Road, St Osyth.
10am to 11am
Billericay Community Hub, High Street, Billericay CM12 9BQ
10:30am to 11am
Coffee Morning, St Nicholas Church, Castle Hedingham
11am to 12:10pm
Miracle House, Silver Island Way, Wickford, SS12 9NR
4pm to 5pm
Eastwood Community Centre, Western Approaches, Eastwood
Tuesday 26 March
10am to 12pm
Jubilee Hub, 3 Hill Street, Saffron Walden
10am to 11am
Hadleigh Library, 180 London Road, South Benfleet
10am to 11am
Morrisons Supermarket, Centenary Way, Little Clacton.
10am to 11am
Marks and Spencers, Stane park, Stanway
10:30am to 12pm
Witham Town Hall, Heritage Suite
11am to 12pm
Hadleigh Library, 180 London Road Hadleigh, Benfleet
11am to 12pm
Morrisons, 175 London Road, Hadleigh SS7 2RB
11am to 12pm
Starbucks, 49 Eastgate Centre, Basildon SS14 1EB
2pm to 3pm
Sainsburys Rayleigh Weir, Stadium Way, Benfleet, SS7 3UB
2pm to 3pm
Hadleigh library, 180 London Road, Benfleet
5pm to 5:30pm
Braintree Village, Chapel Hill, Braintree CM77 8YH
Wednesday 27 March
10am to 11am
Tilbury Hub, Civic Square
10am to 12pm
Staple Tye Shopping Hatch, Harlow
10am to 12pm
Chelmsford Library, Chelmsford County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford
10:30am to 11:30am
Highwoods Carpark, CO4 5JR
11am to 12pm
Costa Coffee, 2 Victoria Road, Buckhurst Hill
11am to 12pm
Jilly Beans cafe, 121 Furtherwick Road, Canvey Island, SS8 7AT
1:30pm to 2:30pm
IKEA Lakeside (Customer restaurant), Heron Way, Essex
Thursday 28 March
10am to 11am
Marconi Cafe, Tydemans, Great Baddow, Chelmsford CM2 9FH
10am to 11am
Oasis Cafe, Frinton free church, Connaught Avenue, Frinton on Sea.
10am to 12pm
Fyfield Village Hall, Houchin Drive, Ongar
10:30am to 11:30am
Zest Cafe, University of Essex
11am to 1pm
Woodside Park, Benfleet
11am to 1pm
Woodside Park, Thundersley, Benfleet
2:30pm to 3:30pm
Outside Lancaster School, Prittlewell Chase, Southend
7pm to 9pm
Theydon Bois Village Hall, Coppice Row, Theydon Bois
Friday 29 March
10am to 12pm
B& Q, Homelands Retail Park, Cuton Hall Lane, Springfield, Chelmsford
2:30pm to 3:30pm
Stebbing Community Shop, High Street
Saturday 30 March
11am to 1pm
Essex Wildlife Discovery Centre, Old Hall Lane, Walton on Naze.
12pm to 2pm
Chelmsford Museum, Oaklands Park, Moulsham Street, Chelmsford
1pm to 1:30pm
Market Place, Braintree, CM7 3HQ
Sunday 31 March
11am to 12pm
Alton Garden Centre, Arterial Road, Wickford, SS12 9JG
For full details of upcoming events, please visit the Essex Police website and enter your postcode.
 Planning a trip away?
If you’re away from home and wish to post anything on social media, make sure your posts aren’t public and that they’re only seen by your friends.
You can check this on Facebook when creating a new post, select the drop down at the top of the page and make sure it is set to friends only.
For other platforms please check your settings.
Or our advice would be to save up those photos and post them once you are back home.
Be fraud smart
Has someone you have just met online asked you for personal images, or to share X-rated content of yourself?
Fraudsters have been known to pose as someone else to gain your trust then use those images to extort money from you.
If you are a victim of this crime; we will investigate and support, you.
 Join our team
Police staff jobs
Practice Nurse Team Leader £41,928
Procurement Specialist £39,183
UNISON Secretarial Assistant £23,121
Contact Management Digital Operations Lead £27,789
Criminal Justice Administrator £24,921
Vehicle Collection & Delivery Driver £23,121
Receptionist £23,121
Force Solicitor £70,860
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Field Operations Engineer £30,783
Senior Network Engineer £38,349
Detention Officers £28,409 to £32,335
Visit our website for full advert, job descriptions and application form.
 This week we remember
Edward Willsmore
Police Constable Edward Willsmore had been a mariner prior to joining the force in February 1847. In February 1849 he was stationed at Burnham, protecting the oyster fishery with two other Police Constables and an Inspector.
Edward maintained his own boat and on Saturday 29 March 1851, he was seen out in it on the River Crouch with the sails set and the wind blowing hard. A witness saw a sudden squall fill it with water so that it sank. His body was not found for two days. He died on 29 March 1851.
Frederick Walter Woods
Police Constable Frederick Walter Woods joined the Southend Borough Constabulary on 19 July 1937. He was initially posted to the Central Section but on 2 February 1942 he left the Police and joined the Royal Air Force (Volunteer Reserve).
He went missing during air operations in the early hours of Friday, 31 March 1944 whilst serving on an operation to Nurnberg. On its return the aircraft was hit by flak when clearing the coast near Dieppe and presumably crashed into the English Channel. All seven crew died on 31 March 1944.
Read more about other Essex officers on the Essex Police Memorial Trust website.
 Obituaries
Roger Crane
The Chief Constable regrets to inform you of the sad death of our former colleague Roger Crane who retired as a constable in 1993 and served at Halstead, Weeley, Clacton & St. Osyth.
He passed away on 2 March 2024 aged 86 years.
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