Latest news from Essex Police in the Southend district
News 20 March to 26 March
Man jailed for shoplifting and breaking five-year stores ban
A man has been jailed for 52 weeks for shoplifting and breaching a five-year criminal behaviour order which banned him from various Southend and Westcliff stores.
Despite being banned from entering them, James Butcher, 33, stole from BP in London Road, Co-op & Savers in Hamlet Court Road, all in Westcliff; and FarmFoods in Eastern Avenue, One-Stop stores in Sutton Road and Waitrose in Fossetts Way, all in Southend.
Targeted patrols in 15 hotspots across the county are helping to prevent violent crime and catch people carrying weapons.
Operation Grip sees uniformed officers 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.
As well as acting as a deterrent, the officers are there to engage with the community and identify areas where improvements could be made to reduce the possibility of crime and make people feel safer.
In February, Grip patrols led to 32 arrests, 58 stop searches and the seizure of four weapons.
In the past year, there has been a 7% reduction in serious violence, knife-enabled crime is down by 11% and the number of people caught in possession of a weapon is up by 4.9%.
A man caught attempting to flee a cannabis farm housing almost 200 plants has been jailed.
Arber Tota, 28, of no fixed address, admitted to his role producing cannabis after a warrant was executed at an address in Westcliff on Tuesday 13 February.
Once inside, officers located Tota within a bedroom, catching him as he tried to flee through an open window.
The property featured four rooms set up to facilitate a significant cannabis grow, with 178 plants at various stages of growth discovered.
Drug experts found the total yield of this crop to be 15kg of cannabis, with a wholesale worth of £52,500.
Tota was charged with and admitted producing a controlled drug of Class B.
Appearing at Basildon Crown Court on Wednesday 13 March, he was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.
Man excluded from all BP and Co-op stores in Essex
A court has excluded a Rochford man from all BP and Co-op stores in Essex after he admitted a spate of shop thefts in Southend and Westcliff.
Basildon magistrates were told on 20 March that David Knight, 41, admitted 19 counts of shop theft, all from the BP garage in West Street, Westcliff, and two Co-op stores, in Sutton Road, Southend, and London Road, Westcliff, between 3 December 2023 and 18 February 2024.
Knight, of Dalys Road, also admitted, using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress to a member of Co-op staff on 16 February 2024
Altogether, he stole £997.86 of alcohol, meat, coffee, chocolates and toiletries.
He was sentenced to a 24-month community order, with a six-month exclusion requirement for him not to enter any BP garage or Co-op store in Essex.
Knight was also referred to Phoenix Futures for six months of drug rehabilitation activity and ordered to pay a £114 victim surcharge.
Southend Town Centre Team launched Operation Raker last year to target persistent offenders who were responsible for a number of thefts, assaults and public order offences.
Officers attended Marine Parade after we were called at around 11.55pm on Saturday 23 March following concerns for the welfare of a man. Despite the best efforts of paramedics, the man, 50s, died at the scene.
I've got social, domestic and pleasure cover on my car insurance so that covers me to drive to and from work doesn't it?
It's a mistake to assume that your car insurance automatically covers you to drive to and from work. In order to use your car in this way your policy must cover you for commuting purposes. This is often referred to as social, domestic, pleasure and commuting cover.
Additionally, commuting cover will only allow you to drive to/from your usual place of work. If you use your vehicle to go to a meeting, conference or seminar etc. whilst at work you will require business cover.
If you are unsure whether your car insurance includes this, you will need to check your insurance certificate and policy documents. Then, if you are still uncertain, contact your insurer and clarify the matter with them.
If you are stopped by the police and they have reasonable grounds to believe your insurance isn't valid, they can seize your car and you can be prosecuted. The penalty for using a vehicle without insurance is a £300 fixed penalty and 6 penalty points or if the matter goes to court, an unlimited fine and 6 to 8 penalty points.
When and how to contact the Police
We're offering more ways of reporting non-emergency crime and anti-social behaviour through the digital 101 service on our website.
You can also use the service to contact your local policing team, tell us about something you have seen or heard, or request information.
We also have a Live Chat service, where you can send direct messages to a digital 101 operator Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 10am-9pm.
We still have our 24-hour 101 service which people can call if they feel it is more appropriate to speak to us or don't have access to the internet.
Always call 999 if a serious offence is in progress or has just been committed, someone is in immediate danger or harm, property is in danger or being damaged, or a serious disruption to the public is likely.
If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use our textphone service 18000.
British Sign Language (BSL) users please use our video relay service where an interpreter will help you report the crime to us.
If you're in danger but you can't talk on the phone, you should still call 999, then follow these instructions depending on whether you're calling from a mobile or a landline.
