News 13 November to 19 November
 Special Constables arrest drink driver
Over the weekend our special constabulary were out policing the city centre to take care of and ensure those using the night time economy in the city centre were safe. During their patrols they noticed a vehicle driving out of the city centre without lights on. They stopped the vehicle and become suspicious when speaking to the driver. Following a road side breath test the female driver was arrested for drink driving and when taken to custody she failed the breath test at the police station being nearly double the legal limit. She has been charged to attend court.
Our special constables are volunteer officers who have the same policing powers as regular police officers. If you are interested in volunteering to keep your community safe as a special constable you can click the link below to find out more information.
Targeted patrols in areas that have a higher probability of a violent incident have led to 66 arrests, 103 stop searches and the seizure of 11 weapons in the past three months.
In the same time period, there has been a 20% reduction in knife-related serious violence and incidents involving knives are down by 10.6% across the county.
There are 15 Operation Grip hotspot areas in Essex: four in Southend, three in Basildon, two in Colchester, and one in each of Chelmsford, Harlow, Clacton, Braintree, Grays and Brentwood.
The patrols see uniformed officers go out on short, sharp foot patrols to prevent violent crime, deter offending and catch people carrying weapons.
The officers also proactively engage with the community and identify areas where improvements could be made with issues like street lighting and CCTV coverage to reduce the possibility of crime and help people feel safer.
Grip is funded by the Home Office and has led to the purchase of a state-of-the-art OpenGate weapons detection system.
Greenstead: Shoplifter banned from two city stores
A Colchester shoplifter has been banned from entering the two city stores he targeted 17 times.
Over a period of nine months, Aaron Talbot, 47, stole more than £1,700 of meat, detergents and coffee from the two shops. On one occasion, he assaulted a member of staff who tried to stop him, city magistrates heard on 13 November 2024.
After being arrested on 17 August 2024 on suspicion of shoplifting at the Co-op store in Five Fields Court, Greenstead, Talbot turned his attention to the nearby Hawthorn Avenue shop, the court was told. Talbot was arrested for a second time by an officer from Colchester Local Policing Team and later charged a total of 17 shop thefts.
Sentencing Talbot, of Conifer Close, magistrates told him he was not allowed to enter the two Co-op stores for the next 12 months.
Talbot had previously admitted 12 thefts from the Five Fields Court store between 18 November 2023 and 8 August 2024, as well as a further five thefts from the shop in Hawthorn Avenue between 11 & 22 August 2024.
He had also pleaded guilty to assault by beating during his last theft on 22 August.
 Appeal to identify witness car after taxi driver assault
Detectives investigating an assault which left a taxi driver with a fractured skull are releasing an image of a car whose driver they want to speak to as a witness.
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of GBH in connection with the assault in Brinkley Grove at around 1.50am on Saturday 2 November.
The taxi driver was taken to hospital but has since been released.
Officers now want to identify the driver of a white car which drove past The Gilberd School from Highclere Road onto Brinkley Grove Road at around 1.40am on the same day.
We believe they may be a witness and we are keen to speak to them.
If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.
Please quote the crime reference number 42/166124/24.
 Let's talk
Upcoming community police events
Friday 22 November 10am to 11am
Lakelands Community Centre, 2 Western Approach, Colchester
Tuesday 26 November 10:30am to 12:30pm
Fraud Prevention Clinic, Community 360, Long Wyre Street, Colchester
Thursday 28 November 10:30am to 11:30am
Zest Cafe, University of Essex
Saturday 30 November 10:30am to 12pm
Northern Gateway Sports Park
Sunday 1 December 10am to 11am
Opposite Tiptree Library Rectory Road, Tiptree, Colchester
Wednesday 4 December 10am to 11am
Wimpole Road Church, 49 Wimpole Road
Thursday 5 December 10:30am to 11:30am
Community 360 , Long Wyre Street , Colchester
Thursday 5 December 12:30pm to 1:30pm
Tiptree Jam Factory Factory Hill, Tiptree, Colchester
 Crime prevention advice
It's recommended to install security features such as window locks, indoor lights on a timer, double or deadlocks on doors, and external lights on a sensor. In addition, leaving a radio or lights on when you're out can create the illusion of occupancy. Keeping your side and back gates secure and storing garden tools inside can also make your home less attractive to burglars.
Be fraud smart
Shopping online can save time and effort and gives you a wide choice of goods from around the world. Unfortunately, while most buyers and sellers are genuine, fraudsters use online shopping scams because they can hide their identity and target many victims at the same time.
What you can do to protect yourself
Buying online
Do some research to find out what a fair or competitive price is for similar goods in the same condition; if the offer sounds too good to miss out on, it might not really exist, be fake or of inferior quality.
Fraudsters often use stock images or other people’s images, or use the same image on multiple websites/adverts. You can check if images appear elsewhere on the internet through websites like TinEye or reverse.photos.
Check the seller or buyer’s review history and feedback from other reviewers. Beware of accounts that may have been set up very recently with lots of favourable feedback that sounds similar, this could be an indication of fake reviews.
Always use the site’s recommended payment site, if they have one, and read the terms and conditions to understand what you are protected for. If you pay any other way than via a recommended payment site, you may not be able to recover your money.
Where there’s no recommended payment site, paying via credit card or known third party payment providers is preferable to direct bank transfers. Check your bank statements or online account regularly.
Make sure that the website you’re buying from is genuine – and not a fake or copycat site – by typing in the address yourself and checking the spelling. Fake addresses usually vary from authentic ones with just one or two incorrect letters.
Research sellers’ and other bidders’ selling history. And bear in mind that a website ending ‘.co.uk’ doesn’t necessarily mean it’s based in the UK. Check the address of the company and the phone number.
Don’t make payment over insecure WiFi (a public WiFi or one with no password to access).
Make sure you’re making payments on a secure site. You can check the link is secure in two ways:
there should be a padlock symbol in the browser window where you can see the site address / URL when you log in or register (beware on unfamiliar sites as this can be faked); if you’re not sure the webpage is genuine, don't use it.; be sure that the padlock is within the address bar at the top of the screen, not on the page itself
the web address should begin with ‘https://’; the ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’
 Question
Are there any regulations as to who can play 'Father Christmas' at a school or local fair for example?
Answer
Whilst there is no mandatory requirement to apply for a standard or enhanced disclosure for a person playing Father Christmas, if the recruiter feels that they would prefer to carry out such checks then they will be eligible to apply.
If the Father Christmas is within a school then it is very likely that a check will be carried out by the local education authority.
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