News 26 March to 1 April
 This Sierra was later seized and found to have a stolen engine
Southend-on-Sea City Council and Essex Police are taking action following dangerous driving at a seafront car meet on Saturday 22 March.
As a result of that event, the Council's Community Safety Unit (CSU) issued 37 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for offences including dangerous stunts such as burnouts, as well as unlawful parking that blocked footpaths, pedestrian crossings, and access routes.
Essex Police also enforced a 12-hour dispersal order in response to reckless driving, seizing three cars and arresting a driver on suspicion of drug driving.
One of the seized cars, a white Sierra Cosworth, was found to have an engine from a stolen vehicle and was not roadworthy.
Roads Policing Unit conducted road safety checks
On Saturday 29 March, officers from our Roads Policing Unit conducted road safety patrols in Southend, focussing on speeding and drink & drug drive offences.
Our activities resulted in 14 arrests, ten of which were for drink or drug driving offences. The results are both staggering and worrying because of the level of offending and associated risks taken by the drivers. We also issued 169 traffic offence reports for a variety of offences and one driver was warned about anti-social driving.
We also seized and took 12 uninsured vehicles off our roads, to keep all our road users safe, because some of these vehicles are unroadworthy and are the most dangerous on our roads.
Sometimes, we stop vehicles for one offence, but we detect others! In one case, a defective headlight led officers to discovering 16 individual wraps of drugs inside the car, resulting in a man being arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to supply. Another three men were arrested when a car was stopped because all the occupants weren’t wearing a seatbelt – one man was wanted by another force in connection with a drug production investigation and two were wanted in connection with immigration offences.
These offences are known as the FatalFour – drink/drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, being distracted by a mobile phone and speeding - and are known to contribute to fatal and seriously injured collisions – something that we work hard to detect and bring drivers before the court.
We’ll continue to work hard to keep Southend safe, but you can help us.
If you know of someone who is drinking and driving, contact us, or, if you have dashcam footage of poor and dangerous driving, you can submit it to ExtraEyes where we will review the footage and take appropriate action.
For more information on Vision Zero road safety campaign, visit Vision Zero - saferessexroads.org
A man has been convicted after defrauding a grieving family out of a significant sum of money by promising to organise a funeral which never took place.
Mark Kerbey’s conviction comes as a result of the work of two officers who were determined to secure justice for the family.
Kerbey booked and billed families for funerals which were never going to take place.
He took money from families despite knowing he was banned from organising funerals in Basildon and Southend since 2018.
In January 2020, a woman whose husband had died at Southend Hospital paid for Kerbey to organise the funeral of her husband, under the business ‘Trinity Funeral Home’.
An approach had been made to the deceased’s son to offer a service which would be cheaper that other companies in the area offered.
Unbeknownst to the victim’s family, that business had been banned from using the facilities at Bowers Gifford Crematorium and Southend cemetery in any capacity.
A tenth person has been charged in connection with our far-reaching investigation into an incident of violent disorder involving weapons in Southend last summer.
On July 30 last year, officers responded within minutes of reports of people with weapons on the seafront, swiftly arresting eight men and boys aged between 14 and 18.
They were subsequently charged and put before the courts.
On 20 August last year, we arrested a ninth male in connection with the incident, securing charges against him.
All nine are due to stand trial this July.
As a result of continuing work led by our Serious Crime Directorate, officers arrested an 18-year-old man, from Stratford, on Friday 28 March.
Hamza Dinbil, 18, of Corporation Street, Stratford, has subsequently been charged with violent disorder and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
He appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday 29 March, where he was remanded in custody until a further hearing at Basildon Crown Court on 28 April.
Southend Neighbourhood Policing Team have increased patrols of Southchurch Park and Southchurch Park East following reports of drug dealing.
Alongside a uniformed presence, officers are working in plain clothes and on bikes to look out for anyone acting suspiciously after members of the public raised concerns.
On the first day of the operation, officers conducted nine stop searches, issued one community resolution for cannabis use, and seized an e-scooter.
A/Sergeant Danny Bell is leading the team and said they want to send a very clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated:
“Nobody visiting our parks wants to see people openly using or dealing drugs – this is totally unacceptable. Our officers are there to stop this from happening and intercept anyone coming to the parks with this intention.
“These are areas popular with families, dog walkers and people exercising. We will not allow them to be spoilt by individuals acting anti-socially or brazenly committing offences.
“We’ve been talking to people in the parks and encouraging them to report to us if they see anything that concerns them.
“The more we know about this type of activity, the more we can do to prevent it and deal with those responsible.”
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Upcoming community police events
Monday 7 April 11am to 12pm
The Haven Community Hub, Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff On Sea, SS0 7LW
 Crime prevention advice
Protect yourself from ATM theft
It’s a good idea to scan the area around ATMs before you use them. Be aware of anyone standing close by and always check the machine to see if it’s been tampered with before you use it.
Tell-tale signs of ATM fraud
Things to look out for are devices attached to the machine – some are more obvious than others. If you do see something suspicious contact the police and the bank.
Remember, if it doesn’t look or feel right then steer clear and, if possible, go inside the bank where it will be safer. And always keep a regular check on your transactions.
Be alert
We know it’s not always easy, but try to be aware of anyone near you when you’re at an ATM. Being aware of your surroundings and not being distracted makes it harder for people to take advantage and less likely that they’ll try to.
Thieves will watch as you key in your PIN or distract you while you’re withdrawing cash. Be vigilant. Cover your PIN and keep an eye on your card at all times. If someone taps you on the shoulder or tries to speak to you, just ignore them.
When you've left the ATM, put your card away immediately.
You should also be careful with contactless cards. You can get a card holder to prevent your card details being inadvertently read.
Be fraud smart
Holiday and ticketing fraud
Holiday fraud
Holiday fraud is on the increase as people use holiday booking websites more and more.
Scammers will list a hotel room or accommodation that isn’t available or doesn’t exist. Often victims only realise it’s a scam when they arrive at their destination, by which time the fraudster is long gone.
What you should know
Scammers may want you to pay them by direct bank transfer, not through the website. They entice you to do this by offering discounts for bank transfer payments. Don’t be tempted.
A scammer will often use photos of accommodation copied from other sites. Use Google Images to check where else an image has been used.
The scammer, or their advert, may claim that they belong to a legitimate trade body or consumer protection scheme, such as the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). Contact the body or scheme to check the person’s credentials.
Research the property yourself. See if it has its own website. Always try to call the owner of the property to confirm they know about your potential booking. If you can’t see a phone number, send an email asking for it.
Ticketing scams
Getting tickets to see your favourite band, football team, play or festival can be difficult as they sell out quickly. Scammers take advantage of this by tempting you to buy tickets that turn out to be fake or their websites offer tickets they can’t provide but are happy to take money for.
What you should know
The scammer’s website will offer tickets that aren’t on sale yet or to sold-out events. You may even get the tickets you paid for, but at the event you find out they're fake, or have been reported as lost or stolen and are therefore invalid.
Scammers may tell you a representative will meet you at the event with your tickets, but they don’t turn up.
Pay for tickets using your credit card, it offers protection under the Consumer Credit Act if you’re scammed.
Check online for negative reviews of the website you want to use.
Remember, the only way to avoid being scammed is to buy tickets from:
- the promoter
- the venue box office
- a reputable ticket exchange site
- an official agent
If a site shows the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) logo, you can check if they really are members by contacting STAR directly.
For more information and help or to report these and many other types of fraud, go to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre.
 I will be attending a cruise in your area, what advice can you give me?
A 'car cruise' is a gathering of large numbers of car enthusiasts who meet at car parks to show off their customised vehicles. A minority of these perform dangerous stunts and this coupled with the sheer number of people gives rise to causing fear to the public.
Whilst cruising in itself is not illegal, many of the cars involved do commit offences whilst taking part in the cruise, such as speeding, dangerous/careless driving and criminal damage.
Some police forces are now treating the meetings as Anti-Social Behaviour and are asking people to leave. Anyone who refuses to leave an area when asked to do so by a Police Officer or Police Community Support Officer, faces arrest.
The police would urge people not to take part and if they do to drive carefully and be mindful of the possible nuisance such events can bring to neighbourhoods
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