News 12 March to 18 March
This comes from the survivor of child sexual abuse as she thanked the officer who supported her and ensured she received justice.
On Monday 10 March Timothy Brown was jailed for eight years and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order after previously admitting sexual activity with a child.
The young survivor said:
"I’ve struggled for a long time with this and now, in effect, it’s over."
And paying special tribute to the officer who led the investigation she said:
"I appreciate you to the ends of the earth, you’re an angel and I’m ever so grateful."
In June 2023 officers from our Child Sexual Exploitation team launched an investigation after allegations of child sexual offences were made.
Brown, 36, of Vernon Crescent, Brentwood, was arrested in October 2023. He remained silent throughout two police interviews.
He was initially charged with 15 offences, including sexual offences involving a child.
At court these were amended, and he was charged with:
- Two counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming
- Two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
- Sexual activity with a child
- Sexual assault
- Two counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act
- Intentional strangulation
- Two counts of production of a Class B drug
On 13 January 2025 at Chelmsford Crown Court he admitted sexual activity with a child and two counts of cannabis production. The other charges were left to lie on file.
At the same court on Monday 10 March he was sentenced to five years in prison for sexual activity with a child. The judge ordered an extended licence of three years, due to his dangerousness.
For two production of a Class B drug charges he was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment for each, to run concurrently with each other, and consecutively with the first sentence.
He is also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, with conditions not to contact girls aged under 16 years.
A 31-year-old woman is convicted of fraud after officers proved she stole more than £180,000 from her employer to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Anita Mirmohammadi had started working at a Brentwood-based family business as a manager in their finance team in 2018, entitling her to access to a business credit card.
Four years later, on 21 April 2022, as part of unrelated fraud checks on the company accounts, a number of unexplained transactions across the globe were found and banks, police and Action Fraud were contacted.
We established Mirmohammadi had been using her personally-issued credit card to fund herself, as well as making fraudulent invoices to extract even more money from the company accounts.
A total of £184,675.89 was siphoned from the company – £126,381.19 by credit card and £63,294.70 from the business account via invoices.
Officers responding to an M25 collision, have reported 51 drivers for road-related offences.
Shortly after 7.15am on Wednesday 26 February, our Roads Policing Unit officers were deployed to a two-vehicle collision on the M25 alongside colleagues in the ambulance and fire services.
Both vehicles were blocking two lanes on the stretch of road from junction 28 heading towards junction 27.
Whilst managing the scene, officers unfortunately had to deal with a number of drivers committing offences. Some drivers were dealt with on the spot and some drivers were sent notice of intended prosecution letters informing them of our intention to prosecute the driver.
In total 51 drivers have been or will be reported for the following offences:
• 26 entering a closed lane – not adhering to a Red X sign
• 2 non wearing of seat belt offences
• 22 mobile phone use whilst driving
Essex Police seized 4,329 uninsured vehicles across the county between January and December last year, which is an average of 12 vehicles every day, to ensure road safety for all.
The figure is an increase of 21% on 2023 results.
Uninsured vehicles pose a significant risk to other road users. Whilst those aiming to be law-abiding motorists may fall foul of common insurance pitfalls, such as assuming their policy has auto-renewed or that they are covered to drive other vehicles, over 60% of uninsured vehicles seized are found to have links to serious secondary offences.
Operation Scalis enables the force to fully dedicate officer time and benefit from partner Motor Insurers’ bureau data, in order to identify potential uninsured vehicles and maximise the impact of clamping down on these dangerous vehicles.
If a stopped driver is unable to provide any proof of insurance, the vehicle is then seized, with a third going on to be crushed. Vehicles will only be released back to the owner once they have bought valid insurance, now at a premium due to their record of uninsured driving.
Other consequences include six penalty points, a fixed penalty of £300 or an unlimited fine should the case go to court, a fee to have the vehicle released and potentially being disqualified from driving.
Driving convictions can show in background checks, impacting job prospects, whilst the loss of independence may impact on any caring responsibilities, such as the need to take children to school or elderly parents to medical appointments.
Our officers have arrested more than 260 people on suspicion of shoplifting so far this year.
And they have secured 453 charges of shop theft against 164 of them, plus a further 24 charges of assaulting a retail worker.
At court, we apply for criminal behaviour orders against persistent and prolific shoplifters. As well as banning them from the stores they target, CBOs can include conditions designed to divert criminals from the drug and alcohol addictions which can be the cause of their offending.
Bans often apply to a specific store or a specific chain of shops in Essex. Two people have recently been banned from store chains across England and Wales.
Arrests for shoplifting and associated offences are made by our officers locally but our specialist Business Crime Team has assisted teams to apply for the CBOs at court.
Brentwood Half Marathon Road Closures
Sawyers Hall Lane will be closed from its junction with A1023 Shenfield Road north west to the Becket Keys School Entrance. No Diversion, access will be given to residents. 07:30 – 14:00.
Highland Avenue, will be closed from its junction with Sawyers Hall Lane, to its junction with A128 Ongar Road. No Diversion, access will be given to residents. 07:30-1400.
A1023 Shenfield Road, will be closed from its junction with the A128 Ongar Road north east to its junction with Middleton Hall Lane. Diversion will be through Middleton Hall Lane, A128 Ongar Road and vice versa. 0900-1040.
St Annes Road, Mountnessing will be closed from its junction with Roman Road to its junction with Thoby Lane. Diversion will be through Roman Road, Trueloves Lane, Green Street, Blackmore Road and vice versa. 09:30-12:00.
Thoby Lane/Mountnessing Road/Mountnessing/Blackmore/Doddinghurst – from St Annes Road to its junction with Ingatestone Road. 09:30-12:00.
Doddinghurst Road, Doddinghurst/Shenfield will be closed from its junction with Mountnessing Lane to its junction with A128 Ongar Road. Diversion will be A1203 Shenfield Road, A128 Ongar Road, Stondon Road, Nine Ashes Road, Blackmore Road, Outings Lane, Elizabeth Road. 10:00-13:00.
Hall Lane, Doddinghurst/Shenfield will be closed from its junction with A1203 Shenfield Road to its junction with Doddinghurst Road. 08:00-13:00.
Nine Ashes Road, from its junction with Ongar Road north to its junction with Stondon Road at the Stondon Massey/High Ongar Parish Boundary.
Access for emergency vehicles and pedestrians will be maintained at all times during the closure.
The restrictions are scheduled to commence on 23 March 2025 for 1 day between the hours shown above, or where appropriate signs are showing.
 Let's talk
Upcoming community police events
Wednesday 26 March 10am to 11am
Let's Talk, Outside Morrisons, Chafford Gardens, West Horndon
Thursday 27 March 11am to 12pm
Let's Talk, Outside Morrisons, Ongar Road, Brentwood
 Crime prevention advice
Marking your property
Ownership over property can sometimes be difficult to determine. By marking or registering your valuables, should the worst happen, and your items are stolen, when they are recovered there can be no dispute over who owns them.
They will be clearly marked or registered to you.
Making your mark
Once you have identified the items you want to mark, the next thing to consider is the best method to use for marking each item. Items might require a different method depending on their material, as you want to make sure that the mark is not easily removed.
When adding a mark, it should be clear and easy to identify. For example, you can use your house number and postcode e.g. 367 CM2
There are a wide range of property marking products available, a few examples are:
- Ultraviolet (UV) pens – these can only be seen when a UV light is shined onto the item. These are easy to use and very discreet, but they do need to be reapplied as they can wear off over time or under extreme heat.
- Engraving – is a good method to use when marking a bike or a metal object.
- Semi-permanent labels – these are a good visible deterrent and can be glued on with special tamper-proof glue.
- SmartWater and SelectaDNA - these are forensic solutions that can be seen under ultraviolet light. Each batch of the liquid solution contains millions of tiny fragments which create has a unique identifying code this is then used to identify its registered owner.
You can also register your valuables to help protect them. When you purchase a new expensive electrical device, the company might offer this to you. There is also a free national database that is widely used by police forces.
Immobilise is the free-to-use national register of possession ownership details. You can register a variety of items with them once you have set up your account. Depending on the item being registered, you would need a few basic details such as: make, model, description, serial number, or reference number.
Registering your property will also help if you need to report an item stolen or make an insurance claim. Find out more on the Immobilise website.
Be fraud smart
Ten golden rules to prevent fraud
Remember these ten golden rules to help you prevent fraud and beat the scammers.
- Be suspicious of all ‘too good to be true’ offers and deals. There are no guaranteed get-rich-quick schemes.
- Don’t agree to offers or deals immediately. Insist on time to get independent or legal advice before making a decision.
- Don’t hand over money or sign anything until you’ve checked someone’s credentials and their company’s.
- Never send money to anyone you don’t know or trust, whether in the UK or abroad, or use methods of payment you’re not comfortable with.
- Never give banking or personal details to anyone you don’t know or trust. This information is valuable so make sure you protect it.
- Always log on to a website directly rather than clicking on links in an email.
- Don’t just rely on glowing testimonials. Find solid, independent evidence of a company’s success.
- Always get independent or legal advice if an offer involves money, time or commitment.
- If you spot a scam or have been scammed, report it and get help.
- Don’t be embarrassed about reporting a scam. Because the scammers are cunning and clever there’s no shame in being deceived. By reporting it, you'll make it more difficult for them to deceive others.
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