News 7 May to 13 May
“They served their country with bravery, pride and honour – they set an example for us all” – that’s from our Chief Constable as Essex Police remembers its officers who served during World War Two.
A total of 291 officers from the Essex, Southend, and Colchester forces served in the armed forces.
Sadly 34 died, including two when headquarters in Chelmsford was bombed in November 1940.
Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said:
“This week, as the nation marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day and remembers those who fought and died for our freedom, we remember those brave officers who served in World War Two.
“I am honoured to be part of a force whose officers and staff did their bit so courageously, some paying the ultimate price.
“We continue to have a proud connection to our armed forces with Colchester Barracks and our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.
“And we maintain that tradition of public service today, protecting and serving Essex whether that be through our expanded Neighbourhood Policing Teams who will be more visible and accessible from this spring, or our specialist detectives putting burglars, violent criminals, and sexual predators behind bars.
“In the same way then we united against a common enemy, we will unite with you, our communities of Essex, to mark this landmark moment. You will see us out and about supporting the many events taking place this week and enjoying them with you.”
Each and every day, our roads policing officers patrol the county’s roads to keep you safe, keep traffic moving and detect crimes committed on our roads.
In March, the team tackled these issues, focussing on the offences known as the #FatalFive.
Responsible drivers know how to behave on the road, but instances of poor and dangerous driving led our roads policing team to deal with:
· 165 mobile phone offences
· 177 drink and drug driver arrests
· 348 drivers caught not wearing a seatbelt
Each and every driver is responsible for their vehicle and their driving behaviour. Good decisions make good drivers. But we prosecuted 386 drivers for careless driving in March, actions that could affect the safety of others and are totally avoidable.
 Neighbourhood Policing Team patrol South Woodham Ferrers and Tolleshunt Knights, after reports of ASB and speeding
The team has been patrolling the South Woodham Ferrers area following complaints about drug use and anti-social behaviour, specifically in the Compass Gardens area. During these patrols, several individuals were stopped and searched in relation to suspected drug use.
Unfortunately, we also seized a number of vapes from children. It is important to remember that you must be 18 years of age to vape, and this legal age limit exists for a reason. We have a duty to protect and safeguard children, and we take this responsibility seriously.
Additionally, the team has been conducting speed checks in the areas of Tolleshunt Knights and Goldhanger after receiving reports from concerned residents. We are pleased to report that the majority of road users were found to be complying with the speed limits.
We remain committed to maintaining safety and addressing the concerns of our communities. If you have any information or would like to report an issue, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Detectives are continuing to investigate a serious collision involving two vehicles on the A414 Ongar Road in Chelmsford
Emergency services were called to the scene, at the junction with Wyse’s Road, just before 11am on Thursday 8 May.
It was reported that a Peugeot Partner van and a Fiat lorry had been in a collision.
Sadly, the driver of the van, a man in his 30s, died at the scene. The driver of the lorry was taken to hospital and remains in a serious but stable condition.
Our specialist officers are supporting those affected by this tragic incident.
The road was closed for a number of hours while we worked alongside fire and ambulance colleagues.
If you were in the area at the time of the collision please do get in touch, in particular if you have dashcam footage, to support our enquiries.
Please quote incident 0398 of 8 May.
You can let us know by submitting a report on our website or by using our online Live Chat service which is available 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.
It can be found at the bottom right of our homepage at www.essex.police.uk.
Visit https://esxpol.uk/PzzZx to find out more about our website reporting services.
Alternatively, you can call us on 101.
 Supporting staff and students at ARU
This week the Chelmsford Neighbourhood Policing Team held a joint venture with the staff at Anglia Ruskin University. We spoke with students and staff about personal safety, romance fraud, drink spiking and hate crime.
 Let's talk
Upcoming community police events
Thursday 15 May 11am to 1pm
John Lewis & Partners, 50 Bond Street, Chelmsford CM1 1GD
Saturday 17 May 10am to 11am
Quadrant Department Store, 220 Moulsham Street, Chelmsford CM2 0LS
Saturday 24 May11am to 1pm
B&Q Chelmsford, Homelands Retail Park, Cuton Hall Lane, Chelmsford CM2 5PX
Saturday 24 May 9am to 10pm
Chelmsford Park Run, Central Park, Chelmsford CM2 0RW
Monday 2 June 10am to 11am
Quadrant Department Store, 220 Moulsham Street, Chelmsford CM2 0LS
Wednesday 18 June 10am to 2pm
Broomfield Hospital Atrium, Court Road, Broomfield, Chelmsford CM1 7ET
 Crime prevention advice
Burglars are often opportunistic thieves who prey on houses and flats. They seek out any opening that they can take advantage of, specifically doors and windows that are left open or unlocked or are easy to force. Anything of value that they might spot through a window will only spur them on. But it really doesn’t take much to deter these thieves – just smart thinking.
- Burglars target homes that they think will contain valuables. A sure giveaway is leaving packaging from expensive items outside your front door
- Burglars often look for homes with windows or doors left open or with vulnerable features that they can exploit.
- Burglars are aware of the times when someone is expected to be away from their house such as during the school run or holidays
- Burglars typically do not want to be seen or heard and if they feel that they would be noticed by a neighbour or passerby then they are more likely to feel exposed and may move on to find somewhere else to burgle
- Burglars often choose a home because they’ve spotted a specific vehicle, motorcycle or bicycle they want to steal – and the keys are more than likely to be inside the residence
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Sheds and garages are often vulnerable as they are not that secure and contain tools which the burglar can use to assist them to gain entry to a home
- It’s a fact that many burglars return to homes that they’ve previously burgled because the homeowner failed to upgrade security following the first burglary. They sometimes return to an area to try to burgle a nearby home that they spotted while committing a previous break in. Even more reason for you to ensure you keep your home as safe as houses
Report antisocial behaviour
Antisocial behaviour takes many forms, from aggressive, noisy or abusive behaviour to neighbourhood disturbances involving drugs, abandoned cars or animals.
If you’ve witnessed antisocial behaviour, please report it to us.
Your neighbourhood can be an area where you live, work, or visit often.
Be fraud smart
Scammers often use one or more of the following to help them commit fraud and hide their true identity.
Money transfer agents
Money transfer agents offer a fast, convenient and reliable way to send and receive money worldwide to and from people you know and trust. However, they're often used by scammers to commit many types of fraud, such as:
- advance fee
- identity theft
- investments
- mass market fraud
Money transfer services are popular with scammers because they don’t have to show ID to collect the money, only senders do. This way, the scammers can hide their identity.
Make sure you know who you’re dealing with before giving them the reference numbers they need to collect the money you deposited. Never let a potential scammer tell you how a money transfer service or cash voucher systems works. Only trust advice given by the money transfer or cash voucher company itself. Read the warnings on money transfer documents. The information is there to protect you.
Don’t use a money transfer agent to pay for anything you buy online, including auction sites. Money transfer agents are not responsible for the safe delivery of goods or services that you paid for using a money transfer.
Never share details of a money transfer with someone to prove you’ve got the funds. If you do, it may allow the money transfer to be paid to that person. This is known as a ‘proof of funds’ fraud.
For more information and help or to report on this and many other types of fraud, go to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre.
 What is a hate crime or hate incident?
The definition of a hate crime is:
Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice, based on a person's disability or perceived disability; race or perceived race; or religion or perceived religion; or sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation or transgender identity or perceived transgender identity (Crown Prosecution Service).
The definition of a hate incident is:
Any non-crime incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race/religion or perceived religion / sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation/disability or perceived disability/transgender or perceived to be transgender (College of Policing).
To list, hate crimes and hate incidents are based or motivated by:
- race or ethnicity
- religion or belief
- sexual orientation
- disability
- transgender identity
For example, a person is beaten up and whilst being attacked the offender makes offensive comments about that person's believed race or ethnicity / sexual orientation/religion or belief/disability, or transgender identity.
A hate crime also takes place when the crime is motivated by the offender's incorrect beliefs. For example, a person is beaten up and comments are incorrectly made about that person's assumed race or ethnicity / sexual orientation/religion or belief/disability, or transgender identity.
Other personal characteristics may be the reasoning behind certain incidents such as age and particular subcultures (e.g. Goths, Emos ), however, these are not considered hate crimes in law. Offences of this nature may still be prosecuted but not specifically as hate crimes. Specific legislation allows the courts to impose tougher sentences on offenders that carry out hate crimes.
Police take reports of these incidents very seriously and if you feel you have been the victim of a hate crime you should report the matter to your local police force. Reports can also be made online via True Vision who in turn report it to the police on your behalf, should you not wish to report it directly.
For further information please see the links in related information.
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