Upbeat, November 2012 - Essex Police
Upbeat, November 2012 - Essex Police
Upbeat, November 2012 - Essex Police
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InsIde thIs Issue: Michael meets his rescuers<br />
Page 8<br />
SOC vehicles will be liveried with crime prevention<br />
advice specifically aimed at householders who have<br />
uPVC doors. The advice shows them how to ensure<br />
their doors are correctly secured.<br />
Operation Nemesis was launched in August<br />
and specifically targeted the areas of Colchester,<br />
Southend, Epping and Brentwood and Harlow, which<br />
were seeing a greater number of burglaries being<br />
committed than were other areas in the county.<br />
Chief Insp Jason Scrivener says: “The operation<br />
is all about improving the information flow across<br />
all commands and ensuring those responsible for<br />
burglary are dealt with quickly and efficiently.”<br />
There is particular focus on circulating the details<br />
of our Top Ten wanted people and a dedicated team<br />
within the Operational Support Group (OSG), based at<br />
Boreham, is providing support to assist with arrests.<br />
This team will move through the county to arrest<br />
suspects and disrupt criminal activity where possible.<br />
Suspects are left under no illusions that <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
Meet your new <strong>Police</strong> and Crime Commissioner<br />
Page 7<br />
<strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />
Socking it to the burglars<br />
The force’s burglary drive – Operation Nemesis – is now mobile, with<br />
scenes of crime vehicles being used to deliver crime prevention advice<br />
takes their conduct seriously and will deal with them<br />
positively.<br />
CID officers will also ‘adopt’ burglary suspects and<br />
their associates, or nominals, employing tactics that<br />
deal with them in the most appropriate way.<br />
Officers will deal with these nominals for any<br />
offence they have committed, however minor<br />
they may seem, thus helping to ‘build’ our overall<br />
investigation into burglaries.<br />
Photographs of wanted people have also been<br />
issued in the media, circulated on the <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
website and featured on Twitter and Facebook. In<br />
addition brightshadow tactics have been used to<br />
monitor people of interest and those suspected to be<br />
involved in burglary.<br />
Moving forward in to the winter months the<br />
operation will look towards offering residents further<br />
crime prevention advice on what they can do to<br />
prevent themselves from becoming a victim. The<br />
overall focus however continues to be reducing the<br />
numbers of offences and bringing<br />
people to justice.<br />
Internally officers are being<br />
encouraged to continue to submit<br />
intelligence reports about burglars<br />
or those with connections to<br />
acquisitive crime.
News 2<br />
In memory of Ian<br />
Players from the Clacton and Colchester<br />
police rugby teams united to play the force<br />
rugby team in a memorial match for Pc Ian<br />
Dibell<br />
And last month’s match raised £2,447.55 for the Ian<br />
Dibell Memorial Account.<br />
Pc Dibell, 41, was shot dead after intervening in an<br />
incident in Clacton near his home on July 9.<br />
His suspected killer, Peter Reeve, 64, shot himself dead<br />
in a churchyard in Writtle the next day.<br />
The force team beat the Clacton and Colchester team<br />
55-24 in the match at Clacton RFC.<br />
Afterwards, Tendring district commander Chief<br />
Insp Cat Barrie said the day had been very poignant,<br />
particularly since the match had taken place the same<br />
day as the funeral of Pc Nicola Hughes, of Greater<br />
Manchester <strong>Police</strong>, “and so soon after the death of our<br />
dear friend and colleague, Pc Ian Dibell.”<br />
She added: “The match was played in a very good<br />
spirit and was typically competitive but ultimately the<br />
occasion was about remembering Ian and celebrating<br />
his life.”<br />
The memorial match was played name was read out<br />
during the annual National <strong>Police</strong> Memorial three days<br />
after Pc Dibell’s Day service to remembers all fallen<br />
officers.<br />
Afterwards, ACPO president Sir Hugh Orde: “National<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Memorial Day provides an opportunity for<br />
the whole police family to come together and<br />
remember police officers who have died protecting the<br />
communities they served.<br />
“Today is particularly poignant as the losses of Pcs<br />
Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in Greater Manchester<br />
and Pc Ian Dibell in <strong>Essex</strong> are still so raw.<br />
“The tributes to these officers have shown policing<br />
was a true vocation for them. We have heard that it<br />
was a job Fiona and Nicola loved; and Ian showed his<br />
commitment to protecting others even when off-duty,<br />
as so many police officers routinely do.<br />
“We commemorate them and their contribution to<br />
policing, along with those the police family has lost in<br />
the past. Our thoughts are with their families, friends<br />
and colleagues.”<br />
This year’s service, in York Minster on September 30,<br />
was attended by Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle,<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> Federation secretary Roy Scanes and rep<br />
Andrew Hastings, together with Mrs Dodd, widow<br />
of Pc Sidney Dodd; Sue Bishop, widow of acting Sgt<br />
Bill Bishop; and Ron and Jean Jennings, parents of Pc<br />
Jo-Ann Jennings.<br />
A memorial service for Pc Dibell in August was<br />
attended by police officers and staff of all ranks from<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> and many other UK forces.<br />
Home Secretary Theresa May, the Lord Lieutenant of<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> Lord Petre and the Bishop of Colchester the Rt<br />
Rev Christopher Morgan, joined the hundreds packing<br />
St James’ Church, Clacton, to honour and celebrate Pc<br />
Dibell’s life.<br />
Among the tributes were eulogies from his family, his<br />
partner PCSO Louise Lilley and Mr Barker-McCardle.<br />
The memorial service followed a private funeral<br />
service on July 31 at Weeley Crematorium, near Clacton.<br />
Action from the memorial<br />
rugby match for Pc Ian Dibell<br />
between <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> (in<br />
red and blue) and the joint<br />
Clacton and Colchester<br />
police team<br />
Picture courtesy of Archant<br />
Suffolk<br />
DEATH IN<br />
SERVICE<br />
Sadly, the following<br />
police officer has died<br />
while serving <strong>Essex</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong>.<br />
The force sends its<br />
condolences to his<br />
family, friends and<br />
colleagues.<br />
August 31, <strong>2012</strong><br />
Insp Tony Rustman,<br />
of LPA West<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 3<br />
We’re out to Imprez<br />
Did you know the force has a Subaru Impreza<br />
WRX which is used as a driving simulator?<br />
It was one of the force’s interceptors – as seen on<br />
Channel 5’s <strong>Police</strong> Interceptors.<br />
The vehicle was converted into a simulator by staff<br />
in Transport Services’ new build workshop – most of<br />
it in their own time.<br />
Now we take the simulator into schools and<br />
colleges throughout the year to give the students a<br />
simulated police drive. It is also used at road safety<br />
events around the county.<br />
And in the summer it appeared at a Help for Heroes<br />
fund-raising event at the Prodrive/Kenilworth Circuit<br />
in Warwickshire.<br />
If you know of an event in your neighbourhood<br />
at which the driving simulator could make an<br />
appearance, contact community engagement officer<br />
Pc Paul Barber in Operational Policing Command on<br />
101 ext 481121 or via email with details<br />
<strong>Essex</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong>’s<br />
Subaru Impreza<br />
WRX driving<br />
simulator is<br />
available for<br />
community and<br />
road safety events<br />
Picture by Paul Barber<br />
Social media attracts a following<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> now has more than 25,000 followers on Twitter<br />
The force’s official page @essexpoliceuk has been<br />
steadily attracting followers since it was launched in<br />
May 2010 as another method of communicating with<br />
the public.<br />
The page is used to keep residents up to date with<br />
policing activities – including arrests, charges and<br />
court sentences – as well as to ask the public for help<br />
to identify suspects caught on camera and trace<br />
vulnerable missing people.<br />
We also currently have seven police officers with<br />
official <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> Twitter accounts as well a page<br />
dedicated to the activity of our helicopter.<br />
The page, @qh99heli, which was launched in<br />
conjunction with Kent <strong>Police</strong>, has recently been<br />
re-named @NPAS_Boreham following the launch of<br />
the National <strong>Police</strong> Air Service last month.<br />
But Twitter is just one of a growing number of social<br />
media channels <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> uses to reach residents<br />
of <strong>Essex</strong> and beyond.<br />
Audioboo and Facebook pages are already up and<br />
running at www.audioboo.fm/essexpoliceuk<br />
and www.facebook.com/essexpoliceuk and last<br />
month we launched Flickr to coincide with the<br />
results of a Hallowe’en poster competition for<br />
young people.<br />
Children aged five to 11 were asked to help us<br />
spread safety messages in the run-up to Hallowe’en<br />
and Bonfire Night.<br />
Around 500 entries were received and everyone<br />
who entered was able to see their design on show<br />
on an online poster gallery on our Flickr page<br />
www.flickr.com/essexpoliceuk<br />
And our YouTube channel hosts more than 150<br />
short videos and CCTV clips which have been<br />
watched more than a million times.<br />
The channel www.youtube.com/essexpoliceuk<br />
features two- to three-minute videos which are<br />
created in-house by the TV and Internet units and<br />
show police officers, police staff and police animals<br />
in action across the county.<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 4<br />
Special day of action sees 10 arrests Remembrance Day<br />
October 20 was a day of action for<br />
Specials across the force<br />
It focused on the execution of warrants alongside<br />
a number of roadchecks, supported by ANPR<br />
(automatic number plate recognition), which were set<br />
up to detect and disrupt criminals using our roads.<br />
Supported by regular officers attached to the<br />
Casualty Reduction Unit (CRU), 33 Specials ran<br />
roadchecks in Basildon, Harlow and Lakeside during<br />
the day, and more than 15,000 vehicles were scanned.<br />
Of these, 273 were stopped and checked, resulting<br />
in five arrests, seven vehicles being seized and the<br />
following fixed penalty notices being issued: 119 for<br />
having no MoT certificate; 110 for driving without a<br />
seatbelt; 22 for driving while using a mobile phone;<br />
five for driving without insurance; two for driving<br />
without a licence; and 32 ‘other’ offences, including<br />
four vehicles being over weight.<br />
Two cannabis warnings were also issued. Among<br />
the people arrested was a man wanted in connection<br />
with a £15,000 fraud and a shoplifter.<br />
SSupt Adam Pipe says: “Op Street Cred served to<br />
provide a high-visibility presence, reinforced by the<br />
public display of seized vehicles at each site, and also<br />
reminded the criminals that we are out in force.”<br />
Meanwhile, 18 Specials attached to the Operational<br />
Support Group and one Response Special took part<br />
in Operation Witchcraft, executing 24 warrants and<br />
arresting five people.<br />
Two people were subsequently charged – one with<br />
theft and one regarding a race-related matter – and<br />
several cannabis plants were seized.<br />
Several Specials were also deployed to Southend to<br />
assist with the search for a high-risk missing person.<br />
Specials were attached to a tactical unit – the OSG –<br />
for the first time in March this year.<br />
Since then, they have completed more than<br />
1650 duty hours,<br />
executed 254<br />
warrants and made<br />
73 arrests.<br />
SInsp Alex Ward<br />
says: “We have 26<br />
committed and<br />
passionate Specials<br />
at OSG carrying out<br />
a wide variety of<br />
taskings alongside<br />
our regular<br />
colleagues.”<br />
Operation Street Cred<br />
in Basildon and (inset)<br />
the Operation<br />
Witchcraft team are<br />
briefed by SSgt<br />
Hannah Carter prior to<br />
the execution<br />
of a warrant<br />
A group of Specials from across <strong>Essex</strong><br />
took part in one of the county’s biggest<br />
Remembrance parades in Chelmsford city<br />
centre on Sunday, <strong>November</strong> 11<br />
Eleven officers practised in the art of drill marched<br />
alongside the Territorial Army <strong>Essex</strong> Yeomanry, 3rd<br />
Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, veterans, the fire<br />
service and cadet forces in memory of those who<br />
have lost their lives in service.<br />
They marched from Market Square to the war<br />
memorial in Duke Street where they and hundreds of<br />
others joined Chelmsford Mayor Christopher Kingsley<br />
and the High Sheriff of <strong>Essex</strong> Christopher Palmer-<br />
Tomkinson to pay their respects.<br />
Among those laying wreaths was Specials’ Assistant<br />
Chief Officer Howard Rayner.<br />
Pictured are: SSgt David Thompson, Sc Perry<br />
Woolner, SSgt Tom Caton, Sc Spencer Worth,<br />
Sinsp Alexander Ward, Sc Shane Bartley, SSgt Gareth<br />
Ward, Sc Allen Stephens and Sc John Harrison. Attending<br />
but not pictured were Sc Jon King and Sc Bob King<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 5<br />
A river runs through it ...<br />
A BBC radio presenter gave his<br />
listeners a taste of high-speed policing<br />
when he joined an <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> Marine<br />
Unit patrol on the River Thames<br />
Ray Clark, who presents the popular BBC <strong>Essex</strong> Breakfast<br />
programme, swapped the comfort of his Chelmsford<br />
studio for the speed and spray of a rigid inflatable boat<br />
(RIB) capable of speeds of more than 60mph.<br />
Kitted out in a drysuit and lifejacket, Ray joined<br />
Pc Shane Burke and Marine Unit reservist Sgt Jason<br />
Lane, from the HQ Driver Training School, for a brief<br />
taste of a patrol during the London <strong>2012</strong> Olympic<br />
Games when <strong>Essex</strong>, Kent and the Metropolitan <strong>Police</strong><br />
joined forces to monitor all ships and leisure boats<br />
Pc Shane<br />
Burke, Ray<br />
Clark and Sgt Jason<br />
Lane on Marine Unit<br />
RIB on the Thames near<br />
Tilbury Docks and (inset)<br />
Ray Clark describes the<br />
scene to radio listeners<br />
as the RIB reaches more<br />
than 50mph<br />
Pictures by Bill Stock<br />
using the Thames. Joining the boat at Tilbury landing<br />
stage, Ray recorded a running commentary as Jason<br />
and Shane showed how the marine units worked<br />
closely with the London port authorities to monitor<br />
the movements of a wide range of vessels, ranging<br />
from massive bulk carriers and cruise ships to small<br />
sailing yachts and motor boats.<br />
And as helmsman Jason eased forward the throttles<br />
of the RIB’s two 225hp outboard motors to quickly<br />
check the various ships moored between Tilbury and<br />
Purfleet, Ray continued to commentate above the<br />
roar of the engines and whistle of the slipstream.<br />
His fascinating report and his reminiscences of<br />
some of his slower ferry crossings of the Thames<br />
between Tilbury and Gravesend were broadcast the<br />
following day.<br />
A life on the ocean wave<br />
Four special constables joined the Marine Unit for the<br />
first time earlier this year and have since notched up<br />
more than 150 duties, totalling more than 1,300 hours<br />
They have already undertaken some basic marine<br />
training with the aim of becoming crew<br />
for all four main patrol vessels – three rigid<br />
inflatable boats (RIBs) and the 42ft launch<br />
Alert IV.<br />
As well as crewing general patrols and<br />
warship escorts, the Specials also helped the<br />
unit train for the London <strong>2012</strong> Olympic Games<br />
and played a part during the Queen’s Diamond<br />
Jubilee River Pageant on the Thames in June.<br />
But the work of a marine special constable is<br />
not only based on the water, they also patrol the<br />
marine community by road.<br />
These high-visibility patrols also help with<br />
intelligence-gathering for Project Kraken – which<br />
focuses on the reporting of unusual activity<br />
or behaviour within the maritime community<br />
believed or suspected of being linked to acts of<br />
terrorism or serious organised crime – and they<br />
offer specialist crime prevention advice.<br />
Acting Sgt Dawn Smith said: “The work of the Marine<br />
Unit Specials has already proven to be invaluable. They<br />
have already contributed a lot to daily tasking and<br />
general duties.”<br />
“Our commitment to patrol covers the coastal and<br />
inland waterways of the entire <strong>Essex</strong> coastline, from<br />
Crayford Ness and the Metropolitan <strong>Police</strong> border on<br />
the River Thames to Manningtree and the Suffolk <strong>Police</strong><br />
border on the River Stour, as well as 12 miles out to sea.<br />
“This covers roughly 400 miles of coastline just for<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> and, when you consider we are also part of the<br />
Joint Marine Unit with Kent <strong>Police</strong>, our patrol area<br />
could extend to nearly 700 miles. With this in mind our<br />
Specials are a fantastic asset to our growing roles.”<br />
HMS Ocean is escorted<br />
up the Thames, top<br />
A Marine Unit RIB<br />
patrols the Thames<br />
during the Queen’s<br />
Diamond Jubilee River<br />
Pageant, above<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 6<br />
Taking action over fraud Digging up the answers<br />
Action Fraud is changing the way the<br />
police deal with fraud investigations<br />
Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud-reporting<br />
centre, which acts as a central point of contact for all<br />
information about fraud and financially-motivated<br />
internet crime.<br />
From December 17, police will continue to crime these<br />
fraud and forgery offences:<br />
• Making or supplying articles for use in fraud<br />
• Possess / control article(s) for use in fraud<br />
• Possession of false documents<br />
• Making off without payment – fuel only<br />
• Forgery or use of drug prescription<br />
• Fraud, forgery etc associated with vehicle or<br />
driver records<br />
• Other forgery.<br />
But victims reporting other frauds will be directed to<br />
Action Fraud – they can either phone in their report<br />
or complete an online form. However, if the victim is<br />
perceived to be vulnerable, then a police officer will<br />
notify Action Fraud of the crime on behalf of the victim<br />
or assist them in reporting it to Action Fraud.<br />
Where a crime is established, it will be recorded and the<br />
victim provided with a national crime reference number.<br />
All crimes and information<br />
reports will be analysed and<br />
used to build up a picture of<br />
fraud nationally – leading to<br />
more targeted enforcement<br />
and preventative action –<br />
and crimes with viable lines<br />
of enquiry will be sent to<br />
the relevant force or agency<br />
as ‘packages’ to investigate<br />
further.<br />
DCI Keith Davies, head<br />
of the Serious Economic<br />
Crime Unit (SECU), says joining Action Fraud will<br />
provide an enhanced service to fraud victims.<br />
“It is clear that where the victim is reporting a crime<br />
in action, or is assessed to be vulnerable, we will<br />
continue to deal with the report as normal.<br />
“But for all other such reports, the victim will make<br />
contact with Action Fraud, which will pass them onto<br />
the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau for assessment.<br />
“<strong>Police</strong> forces will investigate cases which have either<br />
actionable intelligence or viable lines of enquiry.<br />
Clearly, such a system has the potential to save us<br />
hundreds of hours spent filling in reports and will<br />
mean that our time is spent conducting actionable<br />
pro-active investigations whilst protecting those<br />
vulnerable victims who are often targeted by<br />
fraudsters.”<br />
To report fraud and internet<br />
crime to Action Fraud, visit<br />
www.action.fraud.police.uk<br />
or ring 0300 123 2040. <strong>Police</strong> officers or staff<br />
with any query about an Action Fraud referral<br />
should contact the IMU – Crime Bureau on ext<br />
488888<br />
Detectives had to call on a little extra help when a human<br />
skeleton was found on the beach near Bradwell Power Station<br />
After ascertaining that the find was<br />
not a recent death, police officers<br />
contacted <strong>Essex</strong> County Council’s Historic<br />
Environment Branch (HEB) to find out<br />
more.<br />
Large amounts of beach in the Blackwater<br />
estuary were washed away during winter<br />
2009/10, particularly between Bradwell<br />
Creek and Weymarks Beach, where up to<br />
10ft may have been lost in places.<br />
This erosion exposed a skull, which was<br />
spotted by a member of the public, who reported<br />
it. Following an excavation by the police, an almost<br />
complete skeleton was revealed.<br />
Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Benjamin Swift<br />
determined that the remains were those of a short,<br />
adult male. However, while the skull was damaged it<br />
was considered this was as a result of sea erosion and it<br />
was not possible to ascertain the cause of death.<br />
Radio-carbon dating placed the man’s death to<br />
most probably within the first few decades of the 11th<br />
century and that is when the HEB was consulted.<br />
After interviewing the officers and studying the site<br />
where the skeleton was found, together with their<br />
historical knowledge of the area, HEB staff were able to<br />
establish that the body appeared to have been buried<br />
in a shallow grave.<br />
The burial site was on what would have been a<br />
salt-marsh island in the estuary – this having been<br />
considerably wider in Saxon times – although the actual<br />
grave was not identified during excavation.<br />
The early 11th century was a turbulent time in <strong>Essex</strong><br />
and English history and was marked by numerous<br />
Viking incursions, including the Battle of Maldon in AD<br />
991, and the accession to the English throne by the<br />
Danish prince Canute in 1016.<br />
The skull in situ<br />
(police truncheon<br />
for scale)<br />
A full report can be found in<br />
The Transactions of the <strong>Essex</strong><br />
Society for Archaeology and<br />
History 2010<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 7<br />
Baby, you’re beautiful! Meet our new PCC<br />
A team of quick-thinking officers safely<br />
delivered baby Annie in Brightlingsea<br />
early one morning<br />
The officers had been dealing with a fight outside a<br />
block of flats at 1am on September 8 when they were<br />
flagged down by Ramon Hayward, 24.<br />
He said his partner, 20-year-old Chelsea Nolan,<br />
was about to give birth in the building’s communal<br />
hallway.<br />
Constables Kirsty Lucas and David Wren and Sgt<br />
Simon Tattersall found Chelsea in advanced labour.<br />
Pc Wren helped to deliver baby Annie while his<br />
colleagues offered verbal and practical support. Then<br />
paramedics whisked mother, father and child to<br />
Colchester General Hospital.<br />
The new <strong>Police</strong> and Crime Commissioner for <strong>Essex</strong><br />
takes office on <strong>November</strong> 22.<br />
On this date – <strong>November</strong> 22 – all members of police<br />
staff will have their employment transferred to the<br />
PCC.<br />
However, all terms and conditions of employment<br />
will remain otherwise unchanged and there will be<br />
no break in service for any statutory or contractual<br />
purpose and members of police staff will still be<br />
able to contribute to the Local Government Pension<br />
Scheme (LGPS) if appropriate.<br />
And they will remain under the direction and<br />
control of Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle,<br />
who will retain operational independence but be<br />
responsible to the public and accountable to the PCC<br />
Pc Kirsty Lucas and baby<br />
Annie with proud parents<br />
Ramon Hayward and Chelsea Nolan,<br />
Pc David Wren and Sgt Simon Tattersall<br />
for the<br />
Pc Wren said: “One minute we were dealing with a<br />
fight and the next we were delivering a baby.<br />
It was a surreal moment. After nearly ten years in<br />
the job, this is the first time I’ve delivered a baby<br />
on duty. It was a fabulous experience being the first<br />
to hold the baby as I passed her to mum, who was<br />
amazing throughout the whole incident.”<br />
Pc Lucas added: “I feel privileged to have been part<br />
of such a wonderful experience. I never imagined that<br />
during my tour of duty I would be delivering a baby<br />
with my colleagues. I recall telling Chelsea she had<br />
given birth to a little girl and the delight in her face<br />
was amazing. The experience will live with me forever.”<br />
The proud parents added: “We’re extremely proud of<br />
Annie and are extremely grateful to these officers<br />
who are our new best friends. We’re not sure what<br />
we would have done without them.”<br />
delivery of efficient and effective policing,<br />
management of resources and the force’s<br />
expenditure.<br />
In turn, the PCC, who will serve an initial four-year<br />
term, will be responsible for securing an efficient and<br />
effective police service in everything, from counterterrorism<br />
and serious & organised crime to local<br />
Neighbourhood Policing.<br />
And the PCC will be held to account by a <strong>Police</strong> and<br />
Crime Panel (PCP), responsible for scrutinising and<br />
supporting the Commissioner and providing a ‘check<br />
and balance’ mechanism.<br />
A shadow PCP met for the first time in mid-July.<br />
Membership comprises one councillor nominated<br />
by each district/borough council in <strong>Essex</strong> plus the<br />
Southend and Thurrock unitary authorities and <strong>Essex</strong><br />
County Council, with two independent members of<br />
the public also nominated/co-opted.<br />
In the weeks before any election, local authority<br />
and government officials enter a period known as<br />
The new <strong>Police</strong> and Crime Commissioner<br />
for <strong>Essex</strong> is Nick Alston, who was elected on<br />
after the count on <strong>November</strong> 16<br />
Mr Alston – our first PCC – is due to take office on<br />
<strong>November</strong> 22.<br />
A former Royal Naval officer, Mr Alston spent almost<br />
30 years in operational defence and security work.<br />
He then spent five years in the private sector as a<br />
security director for a major global corporation.<br />
Appointed a CBE in 1997, Mr Alston is a member of<br />
the Advisory Board of the Jill Dando Institute of Security and<br />
Crime Science and a non-executive director on the Mid-<strong>Essex</strong><br />
Hospitals NHS Trust Board.<br />
Mr Alston’s father served with <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> for 37 years and<br />
retired as DCC in 1971.<br />
On his website, Mr Alston says: “I intend now to use my<br />
experience and knowledge to help steer <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> through<br />
the major changes it is facing.<br />
“I will also bring policing in <strong>Essex</strong> closer to all of us who live<br />
and work in <strong>Essex</strong> and to make it genuinely accountable to<br />
the local communities it serves.”<br />
Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle said: “I very much look<br />
forward to welcoming Nick Alston, the newly-elected <strong>Police</strong><br />
and Crime Commissioner, into office.<br />
“My priority is to ensure we continue to deliver the very best<br />
police service to our diverse communities in <strong>Essex</strong>. My focus<br />
remains firmly on this and on supporting the PCC in his new<br />
role.”<br />
On <strong>November</strong> 22 – all members of police staff will have their<br />
employment transferred to the PCC.<br />
However, all terms and<br />
conditions of employment<br />
will remain otherwise<br />
unchanged and there will<br />
be no break in service for<br />
any statutory or contractual<br />
purpose.<br />
Information about the office of PCC is<br />
available on the <strong>Police</strong> and Crime<br />
Commissioner intranet site – which can<br />
also be accessed via a link on the front page of<br />
the intranet, or by clicking here<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 8<br />
Michael meets his river rescuers Sea drama praise<br />
A man who came close to freezing to<br />
death in a river has been reunited with his<br />
rescuers – two <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> officers and a<br />
member of the public - who were drawn<br />
to the scene by his pet dog<br />
Michael Dabbs, 63, is thought to have been trapped<br />
in the river at Grays for more than two hours.<br />
His springer spaniel Smudge attracted the first<br />
rescuer, local resident Tony Paxton, who was walking<br />
across a bridge over the river and became suspicious<br />
at the dog’s behaviour. Mr Paxton then heard calls for<br />
help and phoned 999.<br />
Pcs Karen Pownall and Martin Swain quickly found<br />
Mr Dabbs about 20 yards away. He had fallen into the<br />
river while trying to rescue his other spaniel, Ben.<br />
After the two officers had rescued Mr Dabbs and<br />
Ben, a paramedic warned that Mr Dabbs’s body<br />
temperature was critically low and he was taken to<br />
Basildon Hospital.<br />
Mr Dabbs made a full recovery and earlier this<br />
month, he met three of his rescuers at Churchill Road,<br />
Grays, where the drama happened on October 26.<br />
Mr Paxton was crossing the bridge when a dog ran<br />
in front of him. He said: “I made a fuss of him because<br />
he seemed distressed. Because he had a lead on I<br />
was fearful that its owner might be in trouble. Then I<br />
heard Mr Dabbs’s weak calls from help.<br />
“He was lucky. This road is normally quiet and on<br />
that cold and dark Friday evening no-one else was<br />
about.”<br />
Pc Pownall was the first officer to arrive. She<br />
searched along the river and found Mr Dabbs at the<br />
bottom of an 8ft high sloping bank.<br />
“Pc Swain arrived soon afterwards and managed<br />
to get down the slope to grab Mr Dabbs, who was<br />
holding on to Ben,” she said.<br />
“Martin kept slipping so I grabbed hold of him. We<br />
both started losing our footing but luckily did not go<br />
into the water. All three of us were being stung by<br />
nettles. Then Martin and I counted to three, pulled as<br />
hard as we could and hauled Mr Dabbs and Ben to<br />
safety.”<br />
Pc Swain added: “Mr Dabbs was suffering from<br />
hypothermia so we put him in one of our coats<br />
and wrapped him in the survival foil we carry. But<br />
when the paramedic checked his temperature it was<br />
critically low at 28C and life-threatening. Normal<br />
temperature is 37C. We were relieved to hear that<br />
he quickly recovered.”<br />
East of England Ambulance Service spokesman<br />
Gary Sanderson said: “Both officers’ quick-thinking<br />
and rapid intervention has no doubt saved this man’s<br />
life. Well done to both of them.”<br />
Mr Dabbs, who spent about six hours in hospital,<br />
said: “The trouble started when Ben fell the river<br />
and couldn’t get out. I went after him and found I<br />
couldn’t get out. I didn’t realise at the time just how<br />
serious it was.<br />
“I am extremely grateful to everyone involved<br />
and reckon the police officers did a really good job.<br />
Smudge did a good job too. He could have run off<br />
but springers are clever dogs.”<br />
Michael<br />
Dabbs and<br />
Ben with, from right,<br />
Pc Karen Pownall and<br />
Smudge, Tony Paxton<br />
and Pc Martin Swain<br />
Picture by Bill Stock<br />
Pc Martin<br />
Knights with<br />
the young<br />
boy he rescued from<br />
the sea off Southend<br />
Picture by Ian Risdon<br />
A Southend police officer has been<br />
praised for rescuing a boy who got<br />
into difficulties in the sea<br />
As soon as Pc Martin Knights became aware of a<br />
13-year-old struggling in the water, he stripped off<br />
his uniform, jumped in and swam about 200m to<br />
rescue the boy.<br />
Pc Knights, 46, towed the boy back to shore, where<br />
he was checked over by paramedics before being<br />
reunited with his step-mother.<br />
Pc Knights had been on patrol with Sc Pete Baron<br />
near Adventure Island just before 3pm on August 1<br />
when they saw the boy waving.<br />
While Sc Baron radioed for CCTV coverage and<br />
further units, Pc Knights quickly stripped off, ran<br />
down the beach and into the water.<br />
“The boy’s step-mum was really grateful when I<br />
brought him back to shore. She hugged<br />
me afterwards. It’s nice when we, the<br />
police, are appreciated for our work,”<br />
said Pc Knights afterwards.<br />
Sgt Ash Holland, of Southend Central<br />
NPT, added: “I watched the whole<br />
incident on CCTV and have no doubt<br />
that, if it were not for the quick thinking<br />
and brave actions of Martin, then the<br />
boy may not be alive today.”<br />
The town’s CCTV<br />
operators<br />
followed the<br />
pair in the water<br />
to ensure they<br />
didn’t disappear<br />
in the estuary’s<br />
strong current.<br />
You can view<br />
the CCTV<br />
footage by clicking<br />
here. If you find<br />
access blocked by<br />
WebMarshal, click<br />
on Grant Temporary<br />
Access<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 9<br />
We’ve got an APP for that!<br />
Authorised Professional Practice (APP) streamlines more than<br />
600 pieces of existing policing guidance and knowledge<br />
products into a single, central, interactive, online source<br />
APP replaces many of the current guidance<br />
documents and will, ultimately, replace a lot of local<br />
force policies and procedures, significantly reducing<br />
bureaucracy, encouraging the use of professional<br />
discretion and bringing consistency to all authorised<br />
police practice.<br />
However, in practice, you will notice little difference<br />
as APP will be linked to relevant policy and procedure<br />
through the force’s Policy and Procedure Document<br />
Library.<br />
You should still visit this to look up particular<br />
policies and procedures but some information or<br />
links to other guidance documents will have been<br />
replaced by a link to the relevant information on APP.<br />
APP has been developed in an interactive format<br />
– information is interlinked and clearly signposted,<br />
allowing you to navigate easily around the site.<br />
You can either access APP direct – you can find links<br />
on the blue menu on the intranet front page and on<br />
the Site Directory’s Information menu – or via the<br />
Policy and Procedure links.<br />
APP has been tested by user groups across the force<br />
and their feedback has helped to shape it.<br />
APP comprises:<br />
Core practice: themes which cut across a wide range<br />
of policing activities:<br />
Investigation; Intelligence Management;<br />
Information Management; Operations; Engagement<br />
and Communications; Prosecution and Case<br />
Management; Detention and Custody; and Decision<br />
Making.<br />
Specific practice: areas which require additional<br />
national standards and/or practice for reasons of high<br />
risk, interoperability and partnership working:<br />
Armed Policing; CBRN; Civil Contingencies;<br />
Mobilisation; Organised Crime; and Public Order.<br />
The following areas of Specific practice are<br />
currently being developed and should come online<br />
through APP next year: Counter-Terrorism; Covert<br />
(technical surveillance, surveillance and undercover);<br />
Domestic Extremism; e-Crime; Financial<br />
Investigation; Forensics; Major Crime; Professional<br />
Standards; Protecting Vulnerable People; Roads<br />
Policing; and Stop and Search.<br />
If you have any questions, contact:<br />
Peter Hood or Tracy Ashford in the<br />
Policy Development Unit on ext<br />
150036 and ext 150036, respectively<br />
Largest drugs haul in <strong>Essex</strong><br />
Three men from south <strong>Essex</strong> have<br />
appeared in court after the force<br />
recovered our largest-ever cocaine haul<br />
A six-month-long investigation by officers from the Kent<br />
and <strong>Essex</strong> Serious Crime Directorate (SCD) resulted in<br />
two arrests on October 6 when a 29-year-old man was<br />
arrested near Ardleigh and a 30-year-old arrested in<br />
Bowers Gifford.<br />
Officers also recovered 16kgs of cocaine which, together<br />
with a further 8kgs they recovered the previous night in<br />
Beckton, east London, has an estimated street value of<br />
£5million.<br />
The two men arrested were each charged with one<br />
count of conspiring to supply a Class A drug.<br />
A 28-year-old man was arrested in Waltham Abbey<br />
early last month in connection with the same operation<br />
and £250,000 was recovered from an Epping house. He<br />
was charged with one count of being in possession of<br />
criminal property.<br />
All three have since appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’<br />
Court, prior to Crown Court committal proceedings.<br />
Capt Peel’s family museum visit<br />
The Peel family<br />
outside the Chief’s<br />
House at <strong>Essex</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong> HQ<br />
The family of former <strong>Essex</strong> Chief Constable<br />
Captain Jonathan Peel visited HQ in the summer<br />
Sir Jonathan, as he later became, was youngest-ever<br />
Chief Constable when he took command of the Bath<br />
City force in 1931. Two years later, he became Chief<br />
Constable of <strong>Essex</strong>.<br />
His daughter Angela Marks and her family visited<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> Museum – where Captain Peel’s uniform<br />
is displayed – and then DCC Derek Benson opened the<br />
Chief’s House for a guided tour.<br />
Mrs Marks’ husband Ian asked Captain Peel for her<br />
hand in marriage in the waiting room of the Chief’s<br />
House, which they knew as the smoking room.<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 10<br />
Fighting for wildlife<br />
Wildlife crime officer Pc Andy Long is getting<br />
his message across in a webfilm highlighting<br />
the illegal trade in wildlife products<br />
Wildlife crime officer Pc Andy Long is<br />
getting his message across in a webfilm<br />
highlighting the illegal trade in wildlife<br />
products.<br />
Pc Long was asked to feature in the<br />
webfilm, for the World Wide Fund for Nature<br />
(WWF), because of his work in <strong>Essex</strong>.<br />
The illegal wildlife trade is the fifth largest<br />
global illegal trade after drugs, counterfeiting,<br />
human trafficking and oil.<br />
Pc Long says: “Poaching in Africa and<br />
Asia is on the increase and we need to<br />
stop the trade in end-user countries so<br />
there isn’t a market for illegal wildlife<br />
goods.<br />
“We are the guardians of this planet and<br />
if we don’t work to stop this trade, then<br />
our grandchildren will only be able to see<br />
wild animals in zoos and, if they die out<br />
completely, they cannot be replaced.”<br />
In the past year, the force has seized<br />
more than 100 items of ivory being sold<br />
illegally online.<br />
And, as the force’s wildlife, heritage and<br />
environmental crime officer, Pc Long’s work involves a<br />
lot of unusual cases.<br />
His work also takes him to Stansted Airport where<br />
he deals with cases of animals smuggled into the UK,<br />
such as the seven endangered Hermann’s tortoises<br />
found in a couple’s suitcases after they returned from<br />
a holiday in Corfu in 2009. They were subsequently<br />
sentenced to carry out unpaid community work.<br />
To report a wildlife<br />
crime, contact Pc<br />
Long at wildlife@<br />
essex.pnn.police.uk<br />
or on 07890 513899<br />
– but dial 999 if it is<br />
an emergency<br />
First for online investigation team<br />
A Clacton man was jailed for two years after blackmailing a teenager online to obtain<br />
sexual images – the first successful conviction for this type of offence<br />
Late last year, a 16-year-old girl met Reece Moore online.<br />
They communicated with each other and Moore, 20,<br />
gained the teenager’s confidence.<br />
She had explained that she had significant mental<br />
health issues but Moore used her vulnerability to<br />
persuade her to part with indecent images of herself.<br />
He then used these images and the fear of posting<br />
them on the internet to force her to perform sexual acts<br />
on a webcam while he recorded them.<br />
Ds Lee Morton, from our <strong>Police</strong> Online Investigation<br />
Team (POLIT), says: “Reece Moore then moved to show<br />
his true sadistic nature by order her to cut his initials into<br />
Joining us all together<br />
Work on a new, integrated back-office IT<br />
system, commonly known as SAP, is well<br />
underway<br />
SAP, being introduced early next year, will replace the<br />
existing business, HR and finance systems. Because<br />
it’s a single system, you’ll get a better service and<br />
the force saves money on system maintenance and<br />
licenses.<br />
The first changes will see SAP replacing ORIGIN HR,<br />
through which you access Self Service. Everyone will<br />
use SAP to book on and off, access duties, log mileage<br />
and expenses, request annual leave and book on<br />
training courses – all in one place.<br />
In time we’ll use SAP to manage our finances and<br />
accounts, place orders and manage our stores and pay<br />
officers and staff. The system gives us opportunities<br />
like eRecruitment – making recruitment quicker and<br />
easier for managers and applicants.<br />
her inner thighs using a razor blade.”<br />
Moore was arrested in June and subsequently<br />
admitted making indecent photographs of a child<br />
and causing sexual activity with a mentally-disordered<br />
person by threat.<br />
Jailing him in September, the judge at Chelmsford<br />
Crown Court ruled that Moore’s recordings amounted<br />
to property gained for blackmail, despite there being no<br />
loss to the victim.<br />
It was the first successful conviction using this<br />
offence for this type of offending – the victim’s age had<br />
excluded her from the normal incitement offences used.<br />
Because SAP is integrated, it will improve some<br />
of our processes. For example, officers who do<br />
some planned overtime, booking on and off at the<br />
pre-approved times, won’t need to complete a claim<br />
form. All unplanned overtime will have<br />
to be approved – through<br />
a simple form which goes<br />
automatically<br />
to the right approver.<br />
Moving to SAP also means<br />
we’re using the same system<br />
as Kent – allowing better<br />
collaboration within the<br />
Kent and <strong>Essex</strong> Serious<br />
Crime Directorate (SCD) and<br />
between back office functions,<br />
such as HR, Financial Services<br />
and Procurement Services to<br />
work together.<br />
Find<br />
information<br />
about SAP<br />
on the<br />
Collaboration extranet<br />
– click on IT Directorate<br />
and look for SAP under<br />
the Programmes/<br />
projects heading or<br />
click here. Full<br />
guidance will be<br />
provided nearer the<br />
dates SAP goes live<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Awards 11<br />
Recognising the best<br />
Head of vulnerable persons DCI Denise Morrissey has been<br />
recognised for her work in supporting victims and witnesses<br />
At the annual <strong>Police</strong> Bravery Awards she received<br />
Victim Support’s award for Outstanding Contribution<br />
to Supporting Victims and Witnesses.<br />
Afterwards, DCI Morrissey said: “I am proud and<br />
privileged to receive the award but it’s a team effort.<br />
I have a marvellous team supporting me and it’s nice<br />
for their work to be recognised by this award as well.”<br />
She was nominated by Victim Support <strong>Essex</strong> and<br />
Hertfordshire Division, who believed she “would<br />
be a most worthy recipient” of the award, made to<br />
recognise “a serving police officer who has made an<br />
outstanding contribution to supporting victims and<br />
witnesses of crime, ensuring that they are able to<br />
access justice and find the strength to overcome the<br />
effects of crime”.<br />
The award was presented for the first time this year<br />
at last month’s ceremony, organised by the <strong>Police</strong><br />
Federation of England and Wales, in partnership with<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Mutual.<br />
DCI Morrissey, of Crime & Public Protection<br />
Command, has worked hard throughout her 15-year<br />
police career to develop strong partnership links<br />
with other agencies – particularly Victim Support – in<br />
order to ensure the highest-quality support to crime<br />
victims and witnesses.<br />
Among her many achievements has been working<br />
alongside Victim Support to agree an operational<br />
Memorandum of Understanding that led to the<br />
introduction of a customer-centred service protocol<br />
that ensures early and efficient contact with victims<br />
of vulnerable category offences.<br />
Javed Khan, chief executive officer of Victim<br />
Support, says: “We all need to recognise and<br />
celebrate the great bravery of police officers in<br />
fighting crime and catching criminals. We must also,<br />
DCI Denise<br />
Morrissey<br />
receives her award<br />
from Victim Support<br />
chief executive officer<br />
Javed Khan<br />
though, commend the courage the police show, day<br />
in-day out, in supporting victims and witnesses in a<br />
dignified and sensitive way.”<br />
And Paul McKeever, chairman of the <strong>Police</strong><br />
Federation of England and Wales, adds: “The Victim<br />
Support award is a very worthy addition to the<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Bravery Awards. It is only right that the, often<br />
unrecognised, extended police officer support given<br />
to witnesses and victims of crime is recognised and<br />
we are grateful to Victim Support for sponsoring this<br />
award category.<br />
“DCI Morrissey is a commendable winner and a<br />
credit to the police service.”<br />
The contribution of Specials in <strong>Essex</strong> and across the<br />
eastern region towards mutual aid provision has been<br />
recognised nationally<br />
They won the Team Award for Mutual Aid at the<br />
National Special Constabulary and <strong>Police</strong> Service<br />
Volunteers Award ceremony last month.<br />
ACC Maurice Mason says: “The Special Constabulary<br />
is a hugely important part of our force and this award<br />
represents much-deserved recognition of their<br />
endeavours.<br />
“Here in <strong>Essex</strong>, the Specials played a crucial role in<br />
Operation Cabinet at Dale Farm last year and were a<br />
key part of our planning for the Olympic Games.<br />
“Specials from across the eastern region regularly<br />
provide mutual aid to partner forces and this is<br />
particularly crucial during major events, such as<br />
festivals or marches, and during key anti-crime<br />
initiatives.”<br />
Award organisers say the mutual aid support<br />
offered by Specials saved the region’s forces more<br />
than £223,000.<br />
CSI supervisor David Riches has been named<br />
‘best student’ by the National Policing<br />
Improvement Agency’s forensics centre<br />
David was presented with the Crime Scene<br />
Management Development Programme award at<br />
the NPIA’s Forensic Awards in August.<br />
After a two-week residential course, students<br />
undergo a two-year programme of continuous<br />
training and assessment.<br />
And David was judged top student from all those<br />
who took the course in the past two years.<br />
The Crime Scene Management Development<br />
Course is run by the NPIA.<br />
It entails both theoretical and practical aspects<br />
of managing a major crime scene, predominantly<br />
murder but also rape and other very serious crime.<br />
Above<br />
ACC Maurice Mason<br />
is delighted with the<br />
Specials’ help<br />
Below<br />
CSI supervisor David<br />
Riches is presented<br />
with his award by<br />
award sponsor Katie<br />
Melton, of forensic<br />
scenes of crime<br />
consumables supplier<br />
WA Products<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Feature 12<br />
Collaboration<br />
is on the move<br />
When the Kent and <strong>Essex</strong> Transport Services department was<br />
created just over a year ago, it was given a clear mandate by both<br />
Chief Constables: to drive down costs while continuing to keep both<br />
forces on the road and maintaining vital support to front-line policing<br />
Now, as one of the biggest police transport<br />
operations in the UK, the department aims to set the<br />
standard nationwide for fleet collaboration.<br />
Putting the right vehicles into the right roles and<br />
consolidating policies across both forces have been<br />
important factors.<br />
Head of Transport John Gorton says: “Our focus is<br />
always operational and our aims and objectives are<br />
all about front-line policing.<br />
“The key to achieving our collaboration mandate is<br />
to standardise across both forces – buying standard<br />
vehicles and equipment from national contracts and<br />
achieving bigger discounts, as well as consolidating<br />
processes and policies across both forces.<br />
“In effect, doing it once and doing it well. We work<br />
closely with operational colleagues to ensure vehicles<br />
are matched to operational need, used effectively<br />
and made available to the people who need them.”<br />
Before collaborating, <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> and Kent <strong>Police</strong><br />
used different vehicles – an early challenge for the<br />
Transport Services team.<br />
However, in March 2011, legislation required all<br />
forces to buy standard vehicles from the national<br />
police vehicle contract.<br />
The new framework limits choice but enables UK forces to<br />
make significant savings through joined-up procurement.<br />
This represented a significant change for Kent<br />
<strong>Police</strong>, which traditionally used Skodas but is now<br />
moving to Fords, achieving significant savings in the<br />
process.<br />
Close collaborative working between the two forces<br />
has meant a phased transition is achieving the best<br />
from both forces.<br />
“But it has not been all one-way traffic,” says John.<br />
“The Skoda Octavia 4x4 and the BMW X5 will be<br />
making an appearance in some roles in <strong>Essex</strong>.”<br />
The new fleet line-up for both <strong>Essex</strong> and Kent:<br />
• Marked non-Response – Ford Fiesta<br />
• Marked Response – Ford Focus estate<br />
• Marked 4x4 – Ford Ranger<br />
• Station cell van – Ford Transit Connect<br />
• Unmarked (CID) – Ford Fiesta<br />
• Dog vehicle – Skoda Octavia 4x4 estate<br />
• Compact traffic – Skoda Octavia 4x4 estate<br />
• Traffic – BMW 530 estate<br />
• Traffic 4x4 – Land Rover Discovery or BMW X5<br />
• Armed response – BMW 530 or X5<br />
Head of<br />
Transport<br />
John Gorton and <strong>Essex</strong><br />
delivery managers<br />
Sandra Zagger and<br />
Rosanne Grandison<br />
Pictures by Matthew<br />
Benham<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Feature 13<br />
In <strong>Essex</strong>, Transport Services is currently managing the<br />
installation of more than 200 mobile data terminals<br />
(MDTs) into our vehicle fleet.<br />
Engineering service manager Trevor Roper says:<br />
“Ideally MDTs will be installed as new vehicles are<br />
introduced but many will be retrospectively installed.<br />
“And we’ll need the patience and support of<br />
colleagues as vehicles are called into the workshops<br />
over the next couple of months for them to be fitted.”<br />
Ensuring installations are effective, safe and legally<br />
compliant has been a real challenge.<br />
John explains: “Cars were not designed to take this<br />
equipment and there can be no compromise on officer<br />
safety.”<br />
Another major challenge for the team was the<br />
Blueprint for policing <strong>Essex</strong>, which resulted in<br />
significant changes to fleet requirements.<br />
The Blueprint introduced borderless policing,<br />
changing how we respond to emergency calls. In<br />
turn, that has altered the demands on our fleet.<br />
“The new Blueprint represents some significant<br />
challenges for Transport Services – both in terms of<br />
the types of vehicles and the additional pressures<br />
they are under, requiring us to review our servicing<br />
regimes on key vehicles,” says John.<br />
“And, with changes to operational deployment<br />
“All our staff have been absolutely outstanding and have risen to the occasion”<br />
Head of Transport John Gorton<br />
practices, we have introduced full Battenberg<br />
livery on the new-model Response Ford Focus<br />
and upgraded the light bars to deal with fast road<br />
requirements.<br />
“We have also redistributed the fleet to ensure these<br />
higher-specification vehicles are prioritised to central<br />
Response. This matches the Kent approach and also<br />
enhances officer safety.”<br />
Collaboration has resulted in a new, leaner<br />
Transport Services structure with John being<br />
supported by delivery managers Sandra Zagger and<br />
Rosanne Grandison (job share) in <strong>Essex</strong> and Tony<br />
Petts in Kent.<br />
“However, our focus and dedication to supporting<br />
the front line is unchanged” says John.<br />
The team is working closely with Reform in <strong>Essex</strong><br />
and the Kent Policing Model (KPM), continuing to<br />
review fleet composition and consolidate policies<br />
and working practices.<br />
And it is driving further fleet efficiencies through<br />
effective use of vehicles.<br />
Sandra explains: “Improving how they are being<br />
used and utilised presents a real opportunity.<br />
“Reducing overall fleet mileage is key, as is ensuring<br />
available vehicles are used to their full potential,<br />
making them available to whoever needs them. “<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> officers and staff are required to provide<br />
on-line mileage returns and confirm that weekly<br />
vehicle safety checks have been completed.<br />
As well as helping to maintain the safety of those<br />
who drive our vehicles, other benefits include:<br />
• reduced corporate risks around vehicle use – a<br />
safer fleet<br />
• details of vehicle use – are the vehicles available<br />
to those who need them?<br />
• more accurate predictive service scheduling –<br />
less downtime, more availability<br />
• improved fleet-replacement programming<br />
• reduced administration – less paperwork.<br />
John says: “It’s been a challenging 16 months but<br />
all our staff have been absolutely outstanding and<br />
have risen to the occasion. Many have undertaken<br />
new challenges and responsibilities and shown real<br />
leadership at every level.<br />
“We have a clear way ahead now and a really good<br />
opportunity for the future.<br />
“Ultimately, our aim is to be the collaboration force<br />
by which others will be measured.”<br />
Visit the Transport<br />
Services extranet site for<br />
more information and to<br />
leave feedback:<br />
http://extranet.ecis.police.<br />
uk/support-services/depts/<br />
transport.html<br />
FACtFILE<br />
• The combined <strong>Essex</strong> and Kent transport fleet has more than 2,200 vehicles<br />
• A total of 33 million miles are travelled every year by the two forces<br />
• <strong>Essex</strong> and Kent each have 24 workshop technicians who help to keep the fleet<br />
on the road<br />
• The <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> transport garages carried out 14,000 vehicle jobs over the past<br />
12 months and used more than 3,000 tyres<br />
• More than 1,293,000 litres of fuel have been used by <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> so far this<br />
year<br />
• Last year, <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> spent £2.8million on fuel<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Feature 14<br />
Surround A town results all add up<br />
Six men were arrested and 14<br />
vehicles seized during a major road<br />
safety and crime reduction operation<br />
in Basildon last month<br />
This latest Surround A Town involved more than 40<br />
police officers from the force’s Casualty Reduction<br />
Unit, Response and Patrol, Road Policing and <strong>Essex</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong> Special Constabulary, who carried out roadside<br />
checks and mobile patrols.<br />
Also known as Operation Nash, it was part of <strong>Essex</strong><br />
County Council’s three-year No Excuse campaign to<br />
tackle motoring offences and point out to motorists<br />
that there is no excuse for such offences as speeding<br />
and driving while using a mobile phone, not wearing<br />
seatbelts or without insurance or valid driving<br />
documents.<br />
Certain towns have been selected for particular<br />
attention, based on their history of serious injury and<br />
fatal road crashes.<br />
The first Surround A Town took place in Chelmsford<br />
on May 15, subsequently followed by Colchester,<br />
Harlow and then Basildon. Further operations are<br />
planned through to March 2013.<br />
It’s a great example of partnership working – other<br />
agencies involved include HM Revenue and Customs,<br />
the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA),<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> County Fire and Rescue Service, Trading<br />
Standards and British Transport <strong>Police</strong>.<br />
Offenders are identified by officers patrolling in cars<br />
or on motorcycles or through automatic number plate<br />
recognition (ANPR) technology. Each operational day<br />
is followed up a fortnight later with a smaller one.<br />
In Basildon, check sites were set up at East Mayne<br />
and London Road, Vange.<br />
A 25-year-old man, from east London, arrested on<br />
suspicion of driving while disqualified and possessing<br />
cannabis was later charged with these two offences,<br />
as well as driving without insurance and appeared in<br />
court the following day.<br />
Four men arrested on suspicion of stealing clothing<br />
from a charity after a truck loaded with collection bags<br />
was stopped were later released without charge, as<br />
was a 25-year-old Basildon man arrested on suspicion<br />
of being involved in a domestic assault.<br />
More than 320 vehicles were stopped and checked –<br />
14 were seized for not being insured, 103 had expired<br />
MoTs, 102 people were not wearing seatbelts and 40<br />
drivers were seen using mobile phones. More than 30<br />
other motoring offences were<br />
discovered.<br />
County council road safety officers gave advice to<br />
more than 170 offending drivers and 70 motorists later<br />
took part in a road safety training course, instead of<br />
paying a £60 fixed penalty fine.<br />
Casualty reduction manager Adam Pipe says:<br />
“Uninsured vehicles have been taken off the roads but<br />
it is disappointing that every time we do these largescale<br />
operations we find that hundreds of people<br />
continue to flout motoring laws that are in place for<br />
road safety reasons.”<br />
Sgt Simon<br />
Willsher<br />
places a notice on a<br />
seized uninsured car<br />
(main picture)<br />
Cars seized during the<br />
Basildon operation are<br />
loaded on to a transporter<br />
(top)<br />
A sign explains why<br />
the operation is<br />
being carried out<br />
Pictures by Simon Willsher<br />
and Bill Stock<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Feature 15<br />
Aiming to ‘scrap’ illegal metal yards<br />
Metal thefts in <strong>Essex</strong> have been<br />
reduced by more than 50 per cent in<br />
five months following the launch of a<br />
nationwide crackdown on the crime<br />
Operation Tornado, the codename for an on-going<br />
series of scrapyard visits, roadside stop checks and<br />
district patrols, was launched at the end of May, a<br />
month when 358 metal thefts were reported across<br />
the county.<br />
Figures for September showed the number of thefts<br />
reduced to 161. And, next month, for the first time,<br />
following the issue of a warrant, officers will be able to<br />
enter illegal scrap metal yards, inspecting any premises<br />
unregistered with a local authority.<br />
Currently, officers can only access registered<br />
scrapyards ‘at a reasonable time’ to inspect transaction<br />
books and material thought to be linked to metal<br />
theft.<br />
Last year, the rising value of metals led to a soaring<br />
number of thefts in <strong>Essex</strong>. In July 2011 the number of<br />
thefts peaked at 450, ranging from lead from church<br />
roofs and metal in catalytic convertersto hi-tech BT<br />
telephone cable and copper strip lightning conductors<br />
on National Grid pylons.<br />
Road signs, manhole covers and railway signalling<br />
and power cable was being taken.<br />
Following the advent of Operation Tornado, officers<br />
now routinely stop dozens of vehicles carrying scrap<br />
and also visit scrapyards to check sales records and<br />
stop and search the vehicles of yard customers.<br />
Road policing operations – such as Surround A<br />
Town – also involve the stopping and checking of<br />
vehicles carrying scrap metals and a number of people<br />
have been arrested after being found in possession of<br />
stolen metals.<br />
Chief Insp Jason Scrivener, who is leading Operation<br />
Tornado in <strong>Essex</strong>, says: “Metal theft is a crime that<br />
affects thousands of people in many different ways.<br />
“Churches, school and other public buildings<br />
have been closed as a result of theft from roofs, rail<br />
passengers have had journeys delayed, and whole<br />
towns have had their phones cut off after BT cable<br />
was stolen. It is a serious problem and has significant<br />
financial and social implications.<br />
“The number of metal thefts has<br />
reduced significantly over the last six<br />
months, some of which is attributable<br />
to increased focus and engagement<br />
with dealerships but significant work<br />
is still needed to ensure that we create<br />
a hostile environment for those that<br />
choose to break the law.<br />
“I am delighted with the take-up<br />
of the voluntary code of practice we<br />
introduced for scrapyards.<br />
“Designated officers have been<br />
working hard with scrap merchants to<br />
encourage participation in signing up<br />
to the Tornado scheme in advance of<br />
the legislation change.”<br />
From December 3, new legislation will<br />
make it an offence for scrap metal dealers to pay cash<br />
for scrap. Instead, they must pay by cheque or by<br />
electronic transfer of funds. Greater fines will also be<br />
introduced against offenders.<br />
Neighbourhood police officers are working closely<br />
with scrap dealers within their areas, regularly<br />
conducting spot checks and visits and organising local<br />
operations to disrupt and deter criminal offences.<br />
Officers from the our Commercial Vehicle and<br />
Casualty Reduction units are also involved in weekly<br />
operations to stop and check commercial vehicles on<br />
main highways through the county.<br />
At a commercial<br />
vehicle operation at<br />
Thurrock, 17 vehicles<br />
connected to the<br />
scrap trade were<br />
stopped and ten<br />
licensing offences and<br />
six roadworthiness<br />
offences detected<br />
Pictures by Simon Willsher<br />
For more information<br />
about next month’s<br />
changes, under the<br />
Legal Aid, Sentencing<br />
and Punishment of<br />
Offenders (LASPO)<br />
Act , visit the<br />
Neighbourhood<br />
Policing intranet site<br />
and click on Volume<br />
Crime and then<br />
Metal Theft for more<br />
information or click<br />
here<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
News 16<br />
Brave new world for custody suite<br />
A new custody suite has opened at<br />
Chelmsford police station following a<br />
complete refurbishment<br />
The £2million refurbishment is the third in a longterm<br />
programme of re-development across our<br />
custody suites and opened on <strong>November</strong> 12.<br />
The completion of the 18-month-long project sees<br />
cells increased from 11 to 15 and the introduction<br />
of Genesys – a one-stop computer system giving<br />
custody sergeants the ability to oversee and control<br />
activity across the suite from a single screen.<br />
A first for custody suites across <strong>Essex</strong>, Genesys gives<br />
users control over entry and exit to custody while<br />
alerting them to activated panic alarms and allowing<br />
detention officers to see and speak to detainees in<br />
their cells via intercom.<br />
Custody commander Chief Insp Joe Wrigley says:<br />
“We have a duty of care towards those who come<br />
into our custody and are governed by legislation and<br />
codes of practice around this issue.<br />
“Many of those who come into custody do so as<br />
a result of some kind of crisis and we need to make<br />
sure we are equipped to look after them while<br />
making sure they are answerable to the criminal<br />
justice process. We also have a duty of care to our<br />
staff and have made every effort to create a safe and<br />
appropriate environment for them to work in.”<br />
The suite has been designed in line with duty of<br />
care codes of practice to minimise opportunities<br />
for self-harm and the disposal of evidence. It also<br />
includes increased CCTV coverage, an observation<br />
cell, a disabled toilet and shower area, meal<br />
preparation room and exercise yard.<br />
Around 40,000 detainees are held in our custody<br />
suites every year.<br />
Chief Insp Wrigley adds: “Chelmsford is a city with<br />
one of the busiest night time economies across the<br />
ACC Julia Wortley<br />
hands the keys for the<br />
newly-refurbished Chelmsford<br />
custody suite to Sgt Ashley<br />
Stearn and detention officer<br />
Sally Rose-Horn<br />
county. Its custody suite is one of the most central<br />
and accessible in <strong>Essex</strong> so we needed to increase<br />
provision to meet demand.<br />
“The opening of the new suite means police officers<br />
can patrol the town in a more efficient way, returning<br />
to the streets more quickly after taking a detainee to<br />
a local suite rather than having to travel to another.<br />
“I am really pleased with the look of the facility<br />
and delighted we will have it back in the centre of<br />
Chelmsford.”<br />
Custody inspector<br />
Debbie Grafton checks<br />
on a detainee<br />
Above are views of the<br />
new custody suite<br />
Pictures by Kim Gregory &<br />
David White<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Feature 17<br />
Book reviews<br />
German PoW Camp<br />
266 Langdon Hills<br />
by Ken Porter and Stephen Wynn<br />
Basildon officer Pc<br />
Stephen Wynn has<br />
teamed up with local<br />
historian Ken Porter to<br />
compile an historical<br />
account of what life<br />
was like for German<br />
prisoners of war in<br />
Camp 266 at Langdon<br />
Hills during the mid and late 1940s.<br />
Having both separately taken an interest in<br />
the subject, they teamed up and wrote the<br />
book together.<br />
The first PoWs arrived at Langdon Hills in<br />
April 1945 and the camp, which held up to<br />
800 prisoners, closed three years later. It<br />
also had satellite camps at places such as<br />
Tillingham and Purfleet.<br />
The book includes accounts from prisoners<br />
– about their lives before, during and after the<br />
camp – and local residents plus contemporary<br />
letters, newspaper articles and other<br />
documents.<br />
German POW CAMP 266 Langdon Hills costs<br />
£9.99 and is on sale at Waterstones in Basildon.<br />
It can also be ordered from Waterstones<br />
branches and on Amazon and is also available<br />
in e-book format<br />
Appointments<br />
by Martin Stallion<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> Museum<br />
volunteer Martin<br />
Stallion has written<br />
a guide to police<br />
museums across the UK.<br />
Appointments<br />
lists around 60 force<br />
museums and other<br />
museums with<br />
significant collections of police material. The<br />
book also provides information about what is<br />
contained in each museum’s collection, their<br />
services and activities, such as research, talks<br />
programmes, document copying etc, facilities,<br />
visiting arrangements, location and contact<br />
details.<br />
Mr Stallion is a retired reference librarian<br />
and a member of the <strong>Police</strong> History Society.<br />
His previous publications include four<br />
bibliographies on police history and he is also<br />
the joint author of The British police: forces<br />
and chief officers 1829-<strong>2012</strong>, published by the<br />
<strong>Police</strong> History Society.<br />
Appointments costs £5 and is on sale at <strong>Essex</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong> Museum at HQ.<br />
The museum is open to the public every<br />
Wednesday afternoon (1pm-4.30pm) and the<br />
1st Saturday each month (10.30am to 3pm)<br />
Our duty has been done: a record of<br />
Colchester Borough <strong>Police</strong> 1836-1947<br />
by Martin Stallion<br />
Colchester Borough<br />
<strong>Police</strong> was the last, and<br />
the largest, of the four<br />
new forces to be set<br />
up in <strong>Essex</strong> under the<br />
Municipal Corporations<br />
Act of 1835 and the last<br />
to disappear into the<br />
County Constabulary,<br />
having survived several previous takeover<br />
attempts.<br />
This book, written by <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
Museum volunteer Martin Stallion,<br />
provides a comprehensive account of<br />
the force’s 111 years in existence, based<br />
on extensive research into original<br />
documents held at the <strong>Essex</strong> Record<br />
Office and other sources.<br />
It deals with all aspects of the force’s<br />
history: organisation, the chief constables,<br />
pay and discipline, uniforms and equipment,<br />
crime, women police officers, life off duty<br />
and policing during both World Wars.<br />
Our duty has been done costs £18 and is on sale<br />
at Red Lion Books in Colchester or direct from<br />
the author at 68 High Garrett, Braintree CM7<br />
5NT, or ring 01376 551819.<br />
Mersea Mick<br />
by Veronique Eckstein,<br />
Illustrated by Tom Knight<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> graphic<br />
designer Tom Knight<br />
has illustrated this<br />
children’s story by<br />
Mersea Island author<br />
Veronique Eckstein.<br />
In 1988 a sharpeyed<br />
nine-year old boy found a glass jar<br />
sticking out of the cliffs at East Mersea. He<br />
handed the jar to Dougal Urquart, the local<br />
park ranger.<br />
The jar contained a faded envelope with a<br />
letter from a World War I pilot to his faithful<br />
fox terrier Mick. They turned out to<br />
be from the dog’s grave, which was sited in<br />
a bluebell wood on the cliff at Cudmore<br />
Grove, East Mersea, before the cliffs were<br />
eroded by the sea.<br />
These unique beach finds have been spun<br />
into a story involving two boys, a dog and<br />
a World War I pilot. The gripping story and<br />
delightful full-page illustrations make this a<br />
perfect Christmas present for children.<br />
Mersea Mick is available from selected book<br />
shops in Colchester and Mersea and is also<br />
available online at<br />
www.merseaislandtales.co.uk<br />
It costs £8.99 plus £1.20 p&p.<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
ISSUE NO. 8<br />
published <strong>November</strong> 16, <strong>2012</strong><br />
editor Heather Turner<br />
101 ext 155025<br />
upbeat@essex.pnn.police.uk<br />
graphic designer Tom Knight<br />
published by <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
Media Department, HQ,<br />
Chelmsford, <strong>Essex</strong><br />
July <strong>2012</strong><br />
£3,000<br />
Sc Laura Ellis, of Laindon<br />
£1,000<br />
Pc Thomas Hardingham,<br />
of Chigwell<br />
£500<br />
Ds Wayne Norcott,<br />
of Chelmsford<br />
August <strong>2012</strong><br />
£3,000<br />
Pc Trevor Abrahams,<br />
of Harwich<br />
£1,000<br />
Pc Andrew Gudgin,<br />
of Colchester<br />
£500<br />
James Graham,<br />
of Braintree<br />
CARTOON CORNER<br />
Your Honour, the next witness for the prosecution.” ...<br />
“CALL the Mobile Data Terminal!”<br />
September <strong>2012</strong><br />
Hyundai i20<br />
Sc Raymond Pritchard,<br />
of Southend<br />
£3,000<br />
Pc Julie Everall, of<br />
Chelmsford<br />
£1,000<br />
Pc Jon Holden, of the<br />
Force Control Room<br />
£500<br />
Pc Richard Logan, of<br />
<strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> College<br />
GONE<br />
7 For<br />
BUT NOT FORGOTTEN<br />
The <strong>Essex</strong> <strong>Police</strong> Memorial Trust<br />
commemorates those officers killed on<br />
duty since the establishment of police forces<br />
in <strong>Essex</strong> in 1840 – including officers from the<br />
Saffron Walden Borough, Southend on Sea County<br />
Borough and Colchester Borough forces and <strong>Essex</strong><br />
County Constabulary. In each issue of UpBeat, we<br />
will remember the anniversaries of those who died<br />
in the months since the previous issue:<br />
Pc Peter Wringe died July 4, 1982<br />
Pc Ian Dibell died July 9, <strong>2012</strong><br />
Sgt David Lewis died July 14, 1946<br />
Pc Henry Wright died August 1, 1899<br />
Pc Edward Raven died August 7, 1886<br />
Pc Stephen Greet died August 14, 1984<br />
Acting Sgt Brian Bishop died August 27, 1984<br />
UPBEAT <strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />
18<br />
Pc Brian Rippingale died September 2, 1968<br />
Pc Joseph Watt died September 8, 1913<br />
Pc George Gutteridge died September 27, 1927<br />
more information, visit the <strong>Essex</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong> Memorial Trust website at<br />
www.essex.police.uk/memorial