Latest news from Essex Police in the Southend district
News 5 March to 11 March
DCC Rachel Nolan
Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Nolan believes policing offers exceptional career opportunities for women and there should be no limit to female officers’ ambitions.
As one of the country’s most senior female police officers, DCC Nolan said her journey shows that promotion into force leadership roles is achievable, and she encouraged female colleagues to put themselves forward when positions become available.
DCC Nolan joined the force in 1998, starting as a response officer on Canvey Island. She later became Essex’s first female commander of Operational Policing Command before being appointed Deputy Chief Constable in January.
DCC Nolan had considered joining the military after graduating from university but chose policing as there were no restrictions on the roles open to women.
Officers from our Violence and Vulnerability Unit on patrol
Officers from our Violence and Vulnerability Unit and British Transport Police have been at Chalkwell train station during school commuting times in response to community concerns about young people behaving anti-socially.
We understand that when people act anti-socially it can be intimidating. It can sometimes feel scary. It can cause issues for communities and stop you from wanting to go somewhere.
We will continue to work with our colleagues at British Transport Police to be visible at our train stations so that we can deter anti-social behaviour and quickly respond to reports.
Continued targeting of drink and drug drivers sees 11 arrests
On Saturday 1 March, our Roads Policing Unit officers continued to tackle drink and drug driving by focussing their efforts to target unfit drivers in the Southend and Rochford areas.
On the day, the team arrested 12 people in total – 11 for drink and drug offences and a further arrest in connection with possession of drugs. Two of the arrests came after the drivers tried to evade arrest with officers following in pursuit to ensure no one was injured by their reckless driving decisions.
Impassioned Roads Policing Unit officers lead our road safety policing activities and are dedicated to keeping roads safe for everyone. To this end, their performance saw 142 traffic offence reports issued that day for a variety of offences after officers detected breaches of road-related laws.
Enforcement of the law resulted in 14 uninsured vehicles being seized, a driver warned about anti-social driving and one driver being asked to perform an eyesight test – all ways we can keep all our road users safe.
Burglars are often opportunistic thieves who target houses and flats, looking for any opening they can exploit.
If your door has a letterbox, fitting a guard to the rear of the door can prevent someone from reaching in with a stick and hook to fish for nearby items like handbags or keys.
If you’ve ever had your bicycle stolen, you’ll know how upsetting it can be. Our practical tips will help keep your bike safe and out of the hands of thieves – and also advise on how to get it back if it is stolen.
The most important thing to remember is, double lock your bike and register the frame number.
With the end of the tax year approaching criminals might attempt to target businesses to commit their crimes. Stay vigilant and protect your business from potential threats. Take a moment before paying that invoice. Criminals send fake invoices that look like ones from a genuine supplier hoping you will pay without checking the account details.
Cyberbullying is any form of bullying that takes place online. This could be blackmail/threats, abusive comments, spreading rumours, sharing embarrassing pictures or creating fake profiles on social networking sites.
Though there is no specific offence of cyberbullying, you could be found guilty under an existing offence. For example, sending someone threatening, abusive messages can lead to an offence of harassment and posting sexual photographs of someone without their consent could be a criminal offence under the revenge porn law.
Victims of Cyberbullying may be unaware as to what help is available to them. If the bullying is taking place on a social networking site (Facebook, Twitter etc.) you should contact them directly as they have policies in place to remove inappropriate material and if necessary, the bully's account.
If you are a child/young person then contact Childline for more help and guidance.
The behaviour could potentially amount to a criminal offence, we would suggest that you contact your local policing team via the non-emergency 101 number and report the matter.
When and how to contact the Police
We're offering more ways of reporting non-emergency crime and anti-social behaviour through the digital 101 service on our website.
You can also use the service to contact your local policing team, tell us about something you have seen or heard, or request information.
We also have our Live Chat service which is available on our website 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can send and receive real-time messages with an online operator.
We still have our 24-hour 101 service which people can call if they feel it is more appropriate to speak to us or don't have access to the internet.
Always call 999 if a serious offence is in progress or has just been committed, someone is in immediate danger or harm, property is in danger or being damaged, or a serious disruption to the public is likely.
If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use our textphone service 18000.
British Sign Language (BSL) users please use our video relay service where an interpreter will help you report the crime to us.
If you're in danger but you can't talk on the phone, you should still call 999, then follow these instructions depending on whether you're calling from a mobile or a landline.
