News 8 May to 14 May
 Community Policing Team - Inspectors Blog
It does not feel like a fortnight since I last wrote a blog and with the weather (finally) picking up and the Bank Holiday weekend it is noticeably starting to get busier.
Your Community Policing Team have been well occupied in the last few weeks, but as the saying goes sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, and CPT B shift proved that to themselves. Having spent a number of weeks developing intelligence that had come in to them around possible drug supply they were at the point of seeking the approval of the Courts to execute a warrant. Not resting on their laurels while the administrative tasks around it were completed they continued their patrols in the target area, and sure enough they found their target looking like he had just being involved in drug supply. A quick arrest and search of his home led to a great start to the investigation, that will now continue while we look at forensic and digital enquiries to make sure they get the job home.
While we live in a digital age and vast majority of reports come in to us online these days, every now and again we receive a handwritten letter, and that happened this week to report speeding concerns in Great Horkesley, along with some witty Formula 1 references. Of course despite the writer having not seen us himself, the area had already come to our attention and CPT A shift had been out with the speed gun and found that there was not a lot of racing going on, but we, and our Roads Policing colleagues will continue to do spot checks there, and anywhere a problem is flagged to us, it really does not matter how you get in touch, if the information comes in we will do our best to resolve the issue, or at least pass it on to someone else that can if it is not within our gift.
Staying on the car theme, we have noted a slight up-tick in thefts of vehicles in the last few weeks, not connected to other local ASB/vehicle offending that we have been tackling as a partnership in recent months. There is no discernible pattern as yet, but we are working hard to understand this picture and will always be grateful for any help we get from the community to help tackle this and any other offending and as always you can either report directly to us or via Crime stoppers .
I’ll finish this week with a shout out to our Special Constabulary who give up their own valuable time to support the work we do across the District. This past Bank Holiday Monday 8 of volunteers worked on average 11 hours each to bolster the response teams rushing around to all manner of urgent calls, rather than being at home with their families and friends enjoying an extra day off. Their dedication to the City of Colchester is immense, and if joining them intrigues you visit Careers at Essex Police | Essex Police where there are all manner of opportunities including the various volunteer roles we have if a full time career is not for you.
There is so much going on that I cannot cover everything in my blog, but I hope that this gives an understanding and flavour as to what the team have been doing. If you want more information about anything in this blog or want to get in touch about an initiative or something else then please write to us at colchestercommunitypolicingteam@essex.police.uk
 COLCHESTER POLICE STATION OPEN DAY IS BACK FOR 2024.
Saturday 1st June 2024 will see us open our big blue gates on Butt Road once again for a family event to 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 and much much more.
The gates will open at 10:30am and we will remain open until 4pm.
We hope to see you there!
Last week, our officers secured 91 charges of shop theft against 22 people plus another four charges of assault against retail workers.
In the past four weeks, 117 arrests have been made for shop theft* across Essex. Between 1 January and 5 May 2024, that figure rises to 541.
Between 29 April and 5 May, eight people were arrested in the Chelmsford district; seven in Colchester; six in each of the Harlow and Southend districts; five in Thurrock; two in Tendring; and one in each of the Basildon, Epping Forest and Rochford districts. That’s a total of 37 arrests.
One person arrested last week was cautioned for theft offences. Cases involving eight others are still being investigated while no further action will be taken against four others. Two will receive a community resolution.
While many of the arrests are made by officers locally, our specialist Business Crime Team works with retailers to encourage them to report shop thefts and assaults of shop staff to us.
Together with our designing out crime officers, they provide individual stores with tailored crime prevention and security advice. All this work comes under the banner of Open For Business, Closed For Crime.
Sergeant Christian Denning, of the Business Crime Team, says that more retailers are reporting shop thefts and assaults against their staff to us, and are willing to provide CCTV footage and witness statements which help us to secure convictions at court.
“We are dedicated to supporting businesses and advise them on security and staff safety.
“We also tell them what investigating officers will require from them to support a case, should they have to report a crime.
“Essex Police officers are committed to investigating all retail crime and providing the CPS and the courts with the best possible evidence so we can secure charges and convictions to obtain justice for the retailers and the staff they target.
“No-one should have to worry about crime when they go to work.”
* Arrests for shop theft. This relates to the number of arrests our officers have made. A person may have been arrested more than once for theft from a shop during the time period. And they may have been arrested for more than one offence
Colchester Neighbourhood watch
Colchester Neighbourhood watch aims to bring neighbours together to create communities where crime and anti-social behaviour are less likely to happen. The vision is of a caring society in which people are safe from crime and enjoy a good quality of life.
When you join NHW You will be advised by email of the crime happening in Colchester and how you can prevent yourself and others from being a victim of crime.
 Let's talk
Upcoming community police events
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
 Crime prevention advice title
Mark your property to deter burglars
A determined burglar can be difficult to discourage. Good-quality doors, windows and locks are excellent deterrents, but there’s even more you can do to stop burglars in their tracks.
Mark it
Make your valuables less attractive to thieves by using a property or police approved forensic marking solution only visible under Ultraviolet (UV) light. This can take the form of a special marker using ink or paint. Mark or etch your property with your postcode, house or flat number or the first three letters of your address. All of these measures help police identify stolen goods, making it harder for thieves to sell. So make your mark.
And property marking isn’t only for things like electrical items and bikes, you can also mark high value belongings like antiques. However, we recommend that you seek specialist advice.
Be fraud smart
Online fraud
As the number of channels and markets we operate in rises, so does the risk of fraud. Cybercrime is more sophisticated and fraud is increasingly difficult to detect. As a result, the standard fraud verification tools may not be good enough.
What you should know
Fraudsters may target your online business to get customer information, such as names, addresses and payment details, to commit crime.
When using public WiFi networks, many don’t secure their connection when they send personal and business emails, banking or credit card details. These networks are open to hacking, identity theft and fraud. Lots of simple tools and free apps can hack public WiFi networks, a process called ‘sniffing’.
Employees can be targeted by ‘spear phishing’, when a fraudster sends an email to a particular person. They pose as someone else within the company, usually someone important or in a position of trust, and ask for information like login IDs and passwords. They may ask the employee to update their username and passwords.
Once the fraudster has this information, they can access your secured networks to get confidential information and customer data.
Other methods include asking the employee to click on a link in the email, which deploys malware that takes personal or confidential data from your business.
Be wary of where you store your information. If you use a third-party hosting company, find out:
- where your information is kept
- how it’s shared
- how it’s stored
A recent computer threat to businesses is called Cryptolocker, ransomware that’s usually disguised within a legitimate-looking email attachment.
When the attachment is opened, the malware encrypts files in your computer. You then get a message asking for money to decrypt the data, usually via bitcoin or pre-paid vouchers.
There’s not much you can do in this situation, which is why you must back up your data on a regular basis.
Minimise your risk to online fraud
It’s essential that you back up data; if you don’t, it may have a huge effect on your business.
Make your passwords robust by using a mixture of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols.
Don’t use obvious passwords, like your mother’s maiden name, as fraudsters can easily get this information.
Challenge anyone who asks for your personal or financial details.
Test all your security systems to make sure they’re working and you’re not vulnerable to invasion. This includes your website.
If your bank offers it, consider using dual authentication. This can reduce your fraud risk from malware and insider threats.
 I have only just passed my test and have got penalty points on my driving licence, what could happen if I get more?
If you get six or more points on your licence within two years of passing your driving test your licence will be revoked.
Any penalty points you get on your provisional licence that haven't expired will be carried over to your full licence when you pass your test – points usually last for 3 years. However, your licence will be revoked if you get any further penalty points that take you up to a total of 6 or more within 2 years of passing your driving test.
If your licence is revoked, in order to be able to drive again, you'll have to apply and pay for a new provisional licence and pass both theory and practical parts of the driving test again to get your full licence back.
The 2 year probationary period only applies to the very first test you take, this will usually be for a car or motorcycle, it doesn't apply to any further tests
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