News 25 November to 1 December
 Sort Your Settings
The electronic, online world changes so quickly...so don’t get left behind.
‘Sort Your Settings’ for your children to ensure games console and smart phones are set up safely and securely.
Our webpage has been refreshed to include up-to-date information about new and popular online games and social media platforms. There’s advice on all aspects of online safety, including how to access parental controls as well as information about social media age restrictions, game age ratings, chat settings and more.
 Harlow: Closure order for property in Canons Gate
A closure order has been secured for a property in the Canons Gate area of Harlow after complaints of anti-social behaviour and activity linked to drugs.
PC Emily Cross of Harlow Community Policing Team worked with Harlow Council to remove the individual who was living there illegally and prevent him from returning.
The address was being frequented by a number of different people and there were reports of loud music, barking dogs and concerns about smells and vermin.
The occupant was arrested on suspicion of drug supply offences and the neglect of animals. He is currently on bail.
 Gary Hindle
Westcliff: Man jailed for murder of Gary Hindle
Thanks to work by our specialist detectives, a man has been told he must spend at least 26 years in prison for the murder of Gary Hindle in Westcliff.
Gary was just 53 when he was attacked by Barry Mooney in Hamlet Court Road at around 6pm on Thursday 18 July.
CCTV showed that in the moments leading up to the attack, Mooney and Gary had had a short conversation, possibly an argument.
Mooney got up from the bench where they were both sitting, walked over to a nearby tree and got out a large knife before attacking Gary with it.
Gary sustained injuries to his face and back and, sadly, died at the scene.
Shortly after, Mooney also attacked another man who happened to be walking through Hamlet Court Road at the time.
He was taken to hospital and his injuries are life-changing injuries to his face.
Mooney stayed at the scene, sitting on a bench still holding the knife until officers pulled up in a police car.
Despite being told to drop the knife he refused, and officers had to taser him and were then able to arrest him.
While in custody, Mooney made threats towards officers and admitted he had carried out the attack.
Fifty-five year-old Mooney, of Crowstone Road, Westcliff, was charged.
At Basildon Crown Court on Thursday 28 November he admitted murder and GBH with intent and was jailed for life and told he would not be eligible for parole for at least 26 years.
 “Essex is even safer – but we need fair funding to fight crime”
That’s the message from our Chief Constable as figures show there have been 9,300 fewer offences reported in Essex in the last year.
Crime has been falling consistently since before the pandemic, with 22,000 fewer offences reported than this time five years ago.
And at the same time as bringing crime down, in the last 12 months the force has attended 77,000 emergencies, made more than 30,000 arrests, and secured more than 13,000 charges.
Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said:
“Due to the consistent funding we’ve had in recent years thanks to the people of Essex and the Police, Fire, and Crime Commissioner, we’ve been able to grow our force and consistently reduce crime.
“Fewer people are victims of violent, sexual or domestic offences – we’ve had around 1,000 fewer repeat domestic abuse victims in the last year.
“Vehicle crime is coming down and we’re seeing more cases solved, and hundreds of vehicles worth millions of pounds recovered.
“Knife crime falling and fewer people being robbed. But we’re not complacent and every person who is hurt or killed is a tragedy.
“Since the start of the year, we’ve made around 1,500 shoplifting arrests and secured 2,500 charges.
“Home burglaries are also now falling, we’re attending more than 99 percent of them, and we’re solving more than almost any other force. In the last 12 months we’ve secured 130 burglary charges.
“And 77 percent of people in the county say they think we’re doing a good or excellent job.
“To have a prosperous society, you need to have a safe society – and we can only keep that work going if we have the right resources.”
 Samson Kuyeti
Stansted: Man jailed for trying to import drugs through Stansted
Samson Kuteyi tried to import cannabis through Stansted Airport and has been jailed thanks to work by our specialist officers.
More than 23kg of the drug was seized by Border Force at Stansted Airport before it was able to reach its intended destination between August 2022 and June 2023.
 Chigwell: Three sentenced for ‘appalling’ aggravated burglaries
A judge has describe the violent burglary of an innocent family as “everyone’s worst nightmare”, after three criminals terrorised two women and two children in their home in Chigwell.
The two men and teenage boy targeted the wrong addresses while trying to rob a drug dealer before one of the victims managed to contact police without the attackers’ knowledge.
They burgled and attempted to burgle three homes before fleeing the scene and being tracked down by police in the following days.
Myron Onyuta, 28, Reece Mitchell, 20, and a boy who was 16 years old at the time and cannot be named due to his age, forced entry to a flat in Copperfield, Chigwell, in the early hours of 16 May 2024.
They mistakenly believed they were burgling a drug dealer, but when they discovered their mistake they instead threatened to kill the two women and two girls, aged 12 and four, living there.
Mitchell, of Hayter Road in London SW2, was arrested on 18 May by Surrey Police. He pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary.
Onyuta, of Vickers Close in Wallington, was arrested 22 May. He pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated burglary, one count of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear or violence, and one count of burglary.
The teenager, now 17 years old from Deptford, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated burglary and one count of attempted burglary.
 Harwich: £50,000 of stolen machinery recovered
Officers have recovered stolen plant machinery worth more than £50,000 before it was shipped out of the country.
We received reports of an industrial compressor being stolen from the area of Little Hallingbury on Monday 25 November, estimated to be worth £13,000.
On Wednesday 27 November, officers identified a lorry at the port of Harwich where our Operational Support Group and the Harwich Local Policing Team found the stolen compressor inside.
We also found two more compressors and further smaller equipment believed to be work more than £50,000 in total.
All this machinery was seized and will be forensically examined before rightful owners are identified and the equipment returned.
 Naeem Shahani
Takeley: Driver jailed after fatal collision
Naeem Shahani of Sheppey Road, Dagenham, was jailed for two years four months and disqualified from driving for more than six years for a collision which led to the death of a woman when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 28 November.
The 39-year-old had denied two charges - causing death by dangerous driving and serious injury by dangerous driving – which led to the death of Phyllis Willis, 84, from Braintree.
Naeem Shahani was working for a company offering airport “meet and greet” parking services for members of the public.
 Benfleet: Man arrested and wild birds eggs seized
A man has been arrested and thousands of wild birds eggs seized during a warrant carried out by our Wildlife Crime specialists within our Rural Engagement Team in Benfleet.
Officers attended an address on Thursday 21 November as part of co-ordinated activity across the UK to tackle the illegal trade in wild bird eggs, with similar warrants taking place elsewhere.
Thousands of eggs were seized and a 62 year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing wild bird eggs illegally in contravention of Section One of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
He has since been released on bail until 25 January.
Our investigation has fallen out from an investigation into the theft and sale of bird eggs which originated in Norway in June 2023.
Since then, more than a dozen warrants have been carried out, more than 56,000 bird eggs seized, and more than a dozen arrests and charges in Norway.
 Let's talk
53 upcoming community police events across Essex this week
Monday 2 December
9:30am to 11am
Elmstead Markateers, Community Centre, School Road, Elmstead
10am to 12pm
Joining Peabody at the Walton Forum, 61 High Street, Walton on Naze.
10am to 11am
Billericay Community Hub, High St, Billericay CM12 9BQ
10am to 11am
M&S Food, Unit 1, Brook Park West, T Grove, Clacton on Sea.
11am to 12pm
Miracle House, Silver Island Way, Wickford, SS12 9NR
1:30pm to 3:30pm
The McGrigor Hall, 85 Fourth Avenue, Frinton on Sea.
Tuesday 3 December
10am to 11am
Great Tarpots Library, London Road, Benfleet
10am to 11am
Great Tarpots Library, 127 London Road, South Benfleet, Benfleet
11am to 12pm
Spacious Place Cafe, Thurrock Christian fellowship, 2-4 Chase Road
12pm to 2pm
The Megacentre Rayleigh, 7 Brook Road, Rayleigh SS6 7UT
2pm to 3pm
Orleto Lounge, 2 East Square, Basildon SS14 1HS
2:30pm to 4:30pm
Asda, Rawreth Ln, Rayleigh SS6 9RN
3pm to 4pm
East Tilbury Hub, Princess Avenue, East Tilbury
3pm to 4pm
Costa Coffee, Clacton Common Factory Shopping Village, Stephenson Road W, Clacton.
10am to 11am
Wimpole road Church, 49 Wimpole Road
Wednesday 4 December
10am to 11am
The Snug Cafe, High Easter
11am to 12pm
Henham Community Shop, High Street, Henham
11am to 12pm
Stanford Le Hope Library, High Street
1pm to 2pm
Takeley Park, Station Road, Takeley
2pm to 3pm
Stebbing Community Shop, High Street
3:30pm to 5pm
Join local PCSO for a walk and talk along Walton High Street.
4pm to 5pm
Morrisons - Northwick Road, Canvey Island
6pm to 7pm
East of England CO -OP, Samson's Road, Brightlingsea.
Thursday 5 December
10am to 11am
Touchpoint, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted
10am to 11am
Clements Hall Leisure Centre, Clements Hall Way, Hawkwell SS5 4LN
10am to 12pm
Oasis Cafe, Frinton Free Church, Connaught Avenue, Frinton on Sea.
10:30am to 11:30am
Community 360, Long Wyre Street, Colchester
11am to 12pm
Costa Coffee, Highbridge Retail Park, Highbridge Street, Waltham Abbey EN9 1BY
11am to 12pm
Fyfield Village Hall, Houchin Drive, Ongar
11am to 12pm
Wood Cottage Tea Room, Felstead, Dunmow
12pm to 1pm
Priors Hall Farm, Lindsell
12:30pm to 1:30pm
Tiptree Jam Factory Factory Hill, Tiptree, Colchester
3:30pm to 5pm
Connaught Avenue, Frinton on Sea.
10am to 11:30am
Oasis cafe, Orsett church centre, High Road
Friday 6 December
10am to 11am
Ashfields, Green Street, Great Canfield
11am to 12pm
Old School Community Cafe, Takeley
1pm to 2pm
Tea on the Heath, Hatfield Heath
4pm to 5pm
Knightswick centre - Furtherwick Road Canvey Island
10am to 11am
Manningtree Christmas Fayre, Market place, Manningtree.
Saturday 7 December
10am to 11am
Manningtree Market, Marketplace, Manningtree.
11am to 1pm
Unit 17, The Grove Shopping Centre, Witham
12:30pm to 1:30pm
Grays Town park cafe
2pm to 3pm
Oxygen Rayleigh, 26a Brook Road, Rayleigh SS6 7XL
4pm to 8pm
Frinton late night Christmas shopping, Connaught Avenue, Frinton on Sea.
6pm to 7pm
Co-op, Tanton Road, Flitch Green
Sunday 8 December
9am to 9:30am
The Gossetts, Margaret Roding
10am to 10:30am
Leaden Roding Shop, Dunmow Road, Leaden Roding
11am to 12pm
Wivenhoe Library 104/6 High Street, Wivenhoe, Colchester CO7 9AB
11:30am to 12:30pm
Bretts Farm, Chelmsford Road, White Roding
1pm to 5pm
Cornell Court, Smallbridge Road, Saffron Walden
2pm to 3pm
The Mill Arts & Events Centre, Bellingham Lane, Rayleigh SS6 7ED
2pm to 2:30pm
Black Lion, The Street, High Roding
3:30pm to 3:45pm
Village Hall, Dunmow Road, Aythorpe Roding
For full details of upcoming events, please visit the Essex Police website and enter your postcode.
 Sort your settings
Keeping your child safe online is not always an easy task. New technology, regular updates or upgrades can change how things work, sometimes making it difficult to keep up.
So, to help, we have put together some simple things you can do to make your child’s online devices safer.
Top tips
- Protect your identity. Do not share personal information.
- Think before you post. Once posted its no longer yours.
- Check your privacy settings.
- Games and Apps have age ratings for a reason.
- Make use of the parental controls.
Be fraud smart
When shopping online this festive season stay safe. Auction and online marketplaces are a great way to get a good deal. Most items are genuine, but fraudsters use these sites to offer high value items like electronics or designer goods.
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.
 Join our team
Police staff jobs
IT Senior Network Engineer £40,170
Customer Contact Administrators £26,106
Visit our website for full advert, job descriptions and application form.
 This week we remember
Philip George Saban
Philip Saban served with Southend Borough Constabulary from 1 September 1914. It cannot have been pure coincidence that he enlisted with the Royal Horse Artillery on the same day in December 1915, as Harry Mann. It is highly probable the two men were close friends. Philip was mortally wounded and died later of his wounds at the 29th Division Casualty Clearing Station at Grevillers on 2 December 1914. He was just twenty-four years of age.
Read more about other Essex officers on the Essex Police Memorial Trust website.
 Obituaries
John Mann
The Chief Constable regrets to inform you of the sad death of our former colleague John Mann who retired as a D/Sergeant and served with Suffolk Police, transferred to Southend Borough, then Regional Crime Squad and Special Branch. He passed away on the 20 November 2024 aged 83 years.
Malcolm Fester
The Chief Constable regrets to inform you of the sad death of our former colleague Malcolm Fester who retired as a Constable in 2002 and served at Epping, Basildon and Headquarters. He passed away on the 8 November 2024 aged 75 years.
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