News 20 May to 26 May
 Chief Constable and Home Secretary
Essex Police is leading force for tackling online child abuse
“Essex is no place to hide for sexual offenders and those who abuse children” – that’s from one of our top officers as figures show Essex Police is ranked top for dealing with online child abusers.
Last year, our Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) made more than 600 arrests or suspect interviews for these offences and secured 424 charges – the most of any force anywhere in the UK.
In the last 12 months the team also solved 92 percent of the 450 investigations they carried out.
The figures come as the Home Secretary, the Right Honourable James Cleverly MP, visited our force to mark the one-year anniversary of the national CSE Taskforce.
 Specialist unit joins operation focused on the carriage of dangerous goods
We regularly carry out proactive patrols and operations to make roads in Essex safe for everyone and reduce the number of fatalities.
Earlier this month, our Commercial Vehicle Unit (CVU) worked with other forces on a multi-agency, multi-force road safety operation, focussing on the carriage of dangerous goods.
Between 7 and 10 May, Essex’s CVU joined forces with Commercial Vehicle Units from Norfolk Police and Suffolk Police and partner agencies, including the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
 Charles Brown
Man jailed after abusing girls 58 years ago
Essex Police launched a lengthy investigation into the 76-year-old's offending dating back to 1966.
58 years ago, Charles Brown sexually abused several young girls.
The victims bravely reported Brown’s offences to Essex Police in 2019 and, on Friday 24 May, he was jailed for his offending.
Charles Brown, 76, of Hogarth Drive, Shoeburyness, appeared at Basildon Crown Court, where he was sentenced after he was convicted of indecent assaults against three young girls.
The sentencing concludes a five-year investigation by Essex Police’s Quest Team, who investigate sexual offence reports where the victim was a child at the time of the offence but is now an adult.
 Southend: Operation returns to keep the city safe this summer
The operation to keep Southend safe throughout the summer got back underway this bank holiday weekend.
Our officers are working alongside Southend-on-Sea City Council, the British Transport Police, the c2c railway and seafront businesses to help residents and visitors enjoy the sunshine in one of the region’s tourist hotspots.
People can expect to see officers out on patrol in the busiest areas of Southend seafront and Old Leigh to provide a visible deterrent to anyone who misbehaves and diffuse any potential flashpoints.
Officers secure 112 shop theft charges in a fortnight
In the past fortnight, our officers have secured 112 charges of shop theft against 37 people plus another six charges of assault against retail workers.
In the past four weeks, 114 arrests have been made for shop theft across Essex. Between 1 January and 19 May 2024, that figure rises to 594.
Between 6 & 19 May, 15 people were arrested on suspicion of shop theft in Southend, 11 in Thurrock; ten in the Tendring district; five in Colchester; four in Basildon; three in each of Chelmsford and Harlow; one in the Rochford district and one at Stansted Airport. That’s a total of 53 arrests.
Cases involving eight people are still being investigated while no further action will be taken against four others. Four will receive community resolutions.
While many of the arrests are made by officers locally, our specialist Business Crime Team works with them to apply for criminal behaviour orders against the most persistent offenders.
 Here to help - (l-r) Open Road's Ellie Harris, DS Mark Ghosh and DC Claire Lukey
Colchester: 'We take out drugs lines and we protect victims'
Following the deaths of three people relating to drugs in Colchester, officers have been carrying out checks on Class A users to make sure they are OK.
Two people sadly died in the city over the weekend of 11 and 12 May, with a third death reported to us on Tuesday 14 May.
A fourth man was also taken ill in the city. Thankfully, medics were able to treat him, and he has survived.
Each incident is believed to be related to the consumption of Class A drugs.
 Dispatch user survey - the results are in
Thank you to everyone who completed the Dispatch user survey last week.
We were very pleased to hear your views and we've read all the feedback you gave us. The picture above is a word cloud which highlights the phrases you mentioned the most. We found out that 90% of our Dispatch audience is over the age of 55 and that 88% of you feel the length of Dispatch is about right.
Here are some of the comments we received:
I like that's it's not all doom and gloom.. The news just concentrates on all the bad stuff. Dispatch is more balanced and encouraging. I would like more advice on how we can help our communities and local police officers.
It’s informative and gives useful information.
Keep it up. It's good to have positive news.
It's great to read about the criminals being caught, and so very pleased that the drug pushers and growers are being caught too. You should all give each other a great big thankyou hug from us.
Brilliantly informative.
I really look forward to reading this on a Monday. It is very comprehensive with all the different articles.
Concise and informative. It's comforting to know just how much is being managed by the police across Essex. Thank you.
It's not too late to have your say and contribute to the survey. It's still open and it only takes a minute or two.
 Let's talk
Upcoming community police events across Essex this week
Tuesday 28 May
10am to 2pm
Lower Marine Parade car park, next to Dovercourt Bay Lifestyles Swimming Pool
10:30am to 12:30pm
Natwest, 132 High Street, Southend on sea
10:30am to 11am
Alphamstone Village Hall
11am to 12pm
Sainsburys Rayleigh Weir, 21 Stadium Way, Benfleet
11am to 12pm
Morrisons, 175 London Road, Hadleigh SS7 2RB
11am to 12pm
Little Hallingbury Post Office, Lower Road, Little Hallingbury
12:30pm to 1:30pm
Rochford Banking hub, West Street, Rochford SS4 1AJ
1pm to 2pm
The Range, 27, 34 High Street, Chelmsford CM1 1DA
2pm to 3pm
Sainsburys Rayleigh Weir, 21 Stadium Way, Benfleet, SS73UB
2pm to 2:30pm
Bures Common
3pm to 4:30pm
Witham Town Hall, Heritage Suite
5pm to 6pm
Mcdonalds, Eastern Avenue, Southend
Wednesday 29 May
10am to 12pm
Farnham Coffee Morning, Farnham
10:30am to 11:30am
Chelmsford Library, Chelmsford County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford
11am to 12pm
Stanford Le Hope Library, High Street
2pm to 3pm
Ockendon centre, Derry Avenue
2pm to 3pm
Henham Community Shop, High Street, Henham
3pm to 3:30pm
Memorial Hall, Castle Hedingham
4pm to 5pm
Canvey library 2 High Street, Canvey Island
Thursday 30 May
10am to 12pm
Ilfracombe Car Park, Ilfracombe Avenue, Southchurch
10am to 2pm
Market Square, Saffron Walden
11am to 1pm
Hadleigh Cycle Park - Chapel Lane, Hadleigh, Benfleet
11am to 12pm
Costa Coffee, 2 Victoria Road, Buckhurst Hill
2pm to 3pm
Southend Hospital, Tower Block, Prittlewell Chase, Westcliff on sea
2:pm to 3pm
Kelvedon United Reformed Church 89 High Street, Kelvedon, CO5 9AE
3pm to 5pm
Meadows Shopping Centre, 42-47 High Street, Chelmsford
5pm to 6pm
Mcdonalds, 266 Eastern Avenue, Southchurch,
Friday 31 May
9am to 10:30am
Touchpoint, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted
9:30am to 11am
Coffee Morning St Andrews Church, Halstead
10am to 11am
Walton food bank, Standley Road, Walton on Naze
2pm to 4pm
Farmfoods, 1-3 Eastern Avenue, Southend
2:30pm to 3pm
Ridgewell Village Hall
Saturday 1 June
9am to 10am
Parkrun, Central Park, Chelmsford
10am to 11am
Alton Garden Centre, Arterial Road, Wickford SS12 9JG
10am to 2pm
Christmas Tree Island, Clacton Town Centre.
Sunday 2 June
4pm to 7pm
Leisure World Colchester, Cowdray Avenue
For full details of upcoming events, please visit the Essex Police website and enter your postcode.
 Protect your property
Burglars are often opportunistic thieves who prey on houses and flats.
As the weather get warmer they will seek out any opening that they can take advantage of, specifically doors and windows that are left open or unlocked.
Anything of value that they might spot through a window will only spur them on. But it really doesn’t take much to deter these thieves.
Be fraud smart
Planning to book a holiday or short break?
If something looks too good to be true it probably is. Stay scam savvy by reading online reviews from reputable sources before making any bookings.
You can also confirm if an accommodation really exists by verifying the address through web searches and online maps.
Check that your travel company is a member of a trade body e.g., ATOL
 This week we remember
Albert Ronald Oxenham
Police constable Albert Ronald Oxenham joined Essex County Constabulary on 27 September 1937, having previously worked as a waiter at The Queens Hotel in Hastings. After training at Headquarters, Albert was posted to Brentwood, Rochford and Canvey Island. Albert joined the R.A.F. on 6 October 1941. He was killed in the early hours of Monday, 22 May 1944.
Stephen ‘Steve’ Taylor
Steve Taylor served with Essex Police from 30 July 1979. He began his service at Tilbury, where his interest in diving fostered a desire to qualify as a police diver. After transferring to the Force Support Unit in August 1983 he achieved that ambition, and also became a firearms officer. While diving into the wreck of an old barge Steve Taylor and Andy Morrison got into severe difficulties which led to their deaths. Steve Taylor died at the scene on 1 June 1989.
 Steve Taylor (left) and Andy Morrison (right)
Andrew ‘Andy’ Morrison
Andy Morrison served with Essex Police from 2 February 1976. He was first stationed at Billericay then worked at Rowhedge and Colchester before transferring to the Force Support Unit in April 1982. He became a police diver in October 1983 and a diving supervisor in May 1986. On 1 June 1989 the divers were following a routine training exercise in some gravel pits close to Dobbs Weir near Nazeing. Andy Morrison and Steve Taylor got into difficulties while attempting to attach a hawser to a sunken barge. Steve Taylor died at the scene and Andy Morrison the following day in hospital.
Read more about other Essex officers on the Essex Police Memorial Trust website.
 Obituaries
Name
The Chief Constable regrets to inform you of the sad death of our former colleague Graham Yore who retired as a Constable in 2002 and served at South Woodham Ferrers, Kelvedon and Hatfield Heath. He passed away on the 17 April 2024 aged 70 years.
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