Police Update

Crooks Target Cars in SWF

Police are investigating a spate of car break-ins in South Woodham Ferrers overnight between Monday, May 25 and Tuesday, May 26.A passenger window of a Ford Focus parked in Charlotte Court was smashed and items were pulled out of the glove box sometime between 11am Monday and 7am Tuesday. Nothing was stolen.A window of a Ford Fiesta parked in Celeborn Street was smashed. The damage was reported to police shortly after 4am Tuesday.Police received a report just after 3am Tuesday morning that the window of a Ford Ka parked in Galadriel Spring had been smashed and the face plate of the radio had been removed.A window of a Peugeot 207 parked in Crickhollow was also smashed, sometime between 10pm Monday and 9.20amTuesday. The car was searched, but nothing was stolen.An iPod connector was stolen from a Ford Fiesta in Bucklebury Heath and one of the windows was smashed, sometime between 7pm Mondayand 6.50am Tuesday.

A window of a Ford Ka parked in Meriadoc Drive was smashed between 4pm Monday and 7am yesterday and the car searched, but nothing stolen.

And a window of a Ford Focus in Holkham Avenue was smashed sometime between 4pmMonday and 6.30am Tuesday.

Witnesses who saw anyone acting suspiciously or has any information about these incidents are asked to call Chelmsford police station on 101.

Drivers are advised to choose somewhere busy and well lit to park or to use a garage if they have one.

Make sure your vehicle is locked and secure. Never leave your property on display on the dashboard or seats. Remove valuables such as radios, sat navs, mobile phones and laptops and wipe away the marks left by the suction pad on sat navs as they may lead thieves to believe it is in the car somewhere.

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Drug Testing on Arrest
An innovative programme of Drug Testing on Arrest has been extended to every police custody suite in Essex thanks to close partnership working between Essex Police, local authorities, specialist drug treatment programmes, the courts, the Integrated Offender Management System, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex.As part of the national Drug Interventions Programme, people arrested by police for specific Trigger Offences can be drug tested, within a legal framework. This programme of drug testing is called Drug Testing on Arrest. The so called “Trigger Offences” are those crimes (mainly acquisitive crimes such as theft, burglary, vehicle crime and robbery) which are most strongly linked with drugs misuse. The idea behind the initiative is to divert people into drug treatment so that they can address their addictions and move away from criminal behaviour.Details of the legal framework for Drug Testing on Arrest and a list of the Trigger Offences can be seen here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118047/Introducing-Locally-Funded-DTOA.pdfThe costs and the harm to victims caused by individuals seeking to fund a Class A drug addiction is considerable. According to National Treatment Agency research, a heroin or crack cocaine user costs society an average of £26,074 per year. Home Office research has found that the overall volume of offending of over 7,700 individuals nationally was 26% lower following identification through a positive drug test in police custody. Around half of the individuals who tested positive for Class A drug use showed a significant decline in offending of almost 80% in the following six months. All this research supports the view that securing treatment at the earliest opportunity reduces offending significantly.

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PCC Alston publishes major analysis of reported Serious Sexual Crime in Essex

To combat serious sexual crime, we must first understand it.There has been an increase in serious sexual offences reported to police across the country. The 32 per cent increase in serious sexual offences in our county is in line with a national increase of 32 per cent of all sexual offences comparing calendar year 2014 with 2013, reported by the Office of National Statistics

It is believed that the publicity given to Savile’s crimes and those of other high profile sexual predators, and their investigation by the police and other authorities, has led to an increased confidence amongst members of the public in reporting sexual offences. This is what is meant by the ‘Savile effect’.Mr Alston thinks that the large increase in the number of serious sexual offences reported to police in the past two years, and the fact that a quarter of these reports are of “historic” offences, suggest that a ‘Savile effect” may well be a factor. The analysis of serious sexual offences in Essex also reveals that in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, there were more child victims than adult victims.

In fact, in most serious sexual offences, the perpetrator is known to the victim, and assaults by a stranger are rare.
If you want support and access to safeguarding services, you can also use the Essex Victims Gateway to learn of specialist support services in your area with advisors trained in working with victims of serious sexual offences. The Essex Victims Gateway can be accessed at the following link:http://www.essexvictimsgateway.org/Essex has outstanding specialist agencies such as the South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre (SERICC) who can be contacted on 01375 380609, the Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SoSRC) contactable on 01702 667590, and the Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse (CARA), whose number is 01206 769795.Alston notes that we must continue to combat serious sexual crime, to bring perpetrators to justice, and to support victims.

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Wickford: Witness appeal

Police have appealed for witnesses after a motorcyclist was seriously injured in a road crash near Wickford.Officers were called to Runwell Road at about 8.45am on Monday May 25 following reports of a collision between a silver Ford Ka and a white Yamaha motorbike.The rider, a man in his 20s from the Purleigh area, was airlifted to Royal London with serious head and leg injuries. His condition was later described as ‘stable’.The female car driver who is from the Wickford area went to Basildon Hospital for treatment for shock and a foot injury.Police closed the road until about 1.15pm while initial investigations were carried out.Any witnesses who have not yet contacted police, or anyone with information about events leading to the collision, should contact Pc Andy Sumner at Chelmsford road policing office on 101 or email him at [email protected]

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Leigh Robbery

Police investigating a robbery in which the victim had his jaw broken have released an efit of a man they want to identify.A 19-year-old man from Benfleet was outside Iceland in London Road, Leigh on Sea, at 11.20pm on Saturday, May 9 when he was hit in the face from behind.The robber grabbed the victim’s bag, threatened him and demanded he hand the bag over before taking it and running off. It was later found in a street nearby with some items still inside.The victim suffered a broken jaw, a swollen face and eye and a bloody nose. He was taken to hospital for treatment. Police want to identify the man in the efit. Anyone with information is asked to call Dc Keith Draycott at Southend CID on 101.Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or www.crimestoppers-uk.org