News 1 May to 7 May
 COLCHESTER POLICE STATION OPEN DAY IS BACK
Saturday 1st June 2024 will see us open our big blue gates on Butt Road once again for a family event. Come and see behind the scenes at the station and speak to our officers and partners about the work we do to keep you safe, catch criminals, crime prevention advice and much much more.
The gates will open at 10:30am and we will remain open until 4pm.
We hope to see you there!
Intrested in joing the Police cadets?
Are you someone who is interested in helping young people in our community? If you are, then we have a great opportunity for you.
We’re looking for local people, over the age of 18, to join our volunteer police cadet team, by becoming a cadet leader.
In this voluntary role you will mentor local teens, supporting them to grow into confident, well-rounded members of our community.
You will develop your own leadership and management skills too, gaining training along the way.
You don’t need to have a policing background to be a cadet leader. In fact, we encourage those outside the police community to apply. Police cadets isn’t about recruiting police officers of the future. It's about building positive relationships between young people, their communities, and police.
Officers visit Polish school
Last weekend, Special Sergeant Justyna Nowicka attended one of the Saturday Polish Schools with PCSO Emma Wright to engage with children from the polish communities in their language.
The officers explained to the children the role of Police Officers and how Essex Police can help them and keep them safe, along with how to contact the police. Building relationships between police and local communities is a vital part of community policing.
Appeal for information
We are appealing for any information or dashcam footage of several incidents of criminal damage and assault in Colchester.
At about 1.30pm on Wednesday 27 March, it was reported that a suspect entered the HSBC bank in High Street and spoke to staff before assaulting a woman in her 30s and damaging machines in the building.
Later, at about 1.55pm, a suspect reportedly assaulted a man in his 50s outside Fenwicks in High Street.
Then, at about 2.20pm in North Hill, another man in his 50s was assaulted.
The following morning, Thursday 28 March, at about 7.25am, a suspect has assaulted a man in his 30s in High Street.
Lastly, at about 7.30am, a suspect assaulted and attempted to rob a woman in her 30s in North Station Road.
A 38-year old man from Colchester was arrested in connection with these incident shortly after the last incident on 28 March. He has been bailed and our enquiries are continuing.
Now, officers would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed these incidents, or may have dashcam footage from the area at the time of the incidents.
If you have any information that may assist our officers, please get in touch quoting incident 42/49217/24.
A Colchester man has been charged with 18 shop thefts and five breaches of a criminal behaviour order in less than a month.
Scott Butcher, 37, of Devon Road, appeared before Chelmsford magistrates on 26 April 2024 charged with 18 counts of theft from four East of England Co-op stores across Colchester between 27 March and 25 April. The total value of alcohol, meat, fish, cheese, chocolate, cakes, energy drinks and laundry detergent alleged to have been stolen is £1,566.88.
Butcher is also charged with five breaches of a three-year criminal behaviour order imposed by Colchester magistrates on 9 September 2023 which forbade him from entering any Co-op store in Essex.
Butcher is due to appear at Ipswich Crown Court during the week beginning 27 May 2024.
 Let's talk
Upcoming community police events
Thursday 9 May 9am to 10am
Lakelands Community Centre – Stanway
Tuesday 14 May 10am to 11:30am
Waitrose St Andrews garden, CO4 3EQ
Wednesday 15 May 1pm to 2pm
Over 60’s Club - St. Margaret's Berechurch, Stansted Road CO2 8RA
Tuesday 21 May 10am to 12pm
Mercury Theatre, Balkerne Gate, CO1 1PT
Thursday 23 May 10:30am to 11:30am
University of Essex, Zest Café.
Friday 24 May 5pm to 6pm
Starbucks, Sheepen Road, Retail Park, CO3 3LL
Saturday 25 May 4pm to 5:30pm
Colchester Library, 21 Trinity Square, CO1 1JB
 Checklist for securing your home when you leave it
It’s vital to leave your home secure whenever you leave it. Getting into an ‘exit routine’ can help ensure that you don’t forget obvious, important things, like not leaving your valuables near windows, or no lights on if it will be dark before you get home. Here’s what you should do just before you go out.
Become a creature of habit
Try to get into the habit of following your own course of action when you lock up your home. This will ensure that you don’t forget anything.
Here’s what we recommend you do before you go out:
- close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you’re only going out for a few minutes
- double-lock any door
- make sure that any valuables are out of sight
- keep handbags away from the letterbox or cat flap and hide all keys including car keys, as a thief could hook keys or valuables through even a small opening
- never leave car documents or ID in obvious places such as kitchens or hallways
- in the evening, shut the curtains and leave lights on
- if you’re out all day, then it’s advisable to use a timer device to automatically turn lights and a radio on at night
- set your burglar alarm
- make sure the side gate is locked
- lock your shed or garage
- lock your bike inside a secure shed or garage, to a robust fitting bolted to the ground or wall, like a ground anchor
Be fraud smart
Procurement fraud
Procurement fraud is on the increase. Any employee responsible for procurement could commit fraud. Identifying the risks is difficult, but take a common sense approach.
What you should know
An employee could create a record for a fake company or for a legitimate company you don’t do business with. They then transfer money to the company, controlled by either the employee or an outsider.
In customer fake-invoice scams, fraudsters send an invoice or bill to a company, asking for immediate payment for goods or services. The invoice says the due date for payment has passed and threatens that if you don’t pay it’ll affect your credit rating.
In fact, the invoice is fake and is for goods and services you haven’t ordered or received.
An employee could also intercept and change payee details and amounts on cheques and payable orders, then cash them.
Employees could also:
- authorise payments for themselves
- collude with suppliers to gain contracts
There may be conflicts of interest. For example, an employee has a financial interest in the success of a supplier, but their goods and services are more expensive than those of other suppliers.
Suppliers may also try to encourage business by offering anything of value to influence a decision.
Minimise your risk of fraud
Never change payment details because of a single phone call or email; check with your usual contact that the new details are real and correct before making any changes.
Make sure that the business needs the goods or service being provided.
Regularly review your accounts to find anything that doesn’t seem right.
Ask your staff to identify and challenge inappropriate behaviour.
For more information and help or to report this and many other types of fraud, go to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre.
 Can you tell me about the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, also known as Clare's Law?
The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme gives members of the public a formal mechanism to make enquires about an individual who they are in a relationship with or who is in a relationship with someone they know where there is a concern that the individual may be violent towards their partner. This information may be disclosed via a request from a member of the public (Right to Ask) or be initiated by the police where a proactive decision is made to disclose information in order to protect a potential victim (Right to Know)
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