Upbeat, November 2012 - Essex Police

Feature 14
Surround A town results all add up
Six men were arrested and 14
vehicles seized during a major road
safety and crime reduction operation
in Basildon last month
This latest Surround A Town involved more than 40
police officers from the force’s Casualty Reduction
Unit, Response and Patrol, Road Policing and Essex
Police Special Constabulary, who carried out roadside
checks and mobile patrols.
Also known as Operation Nash, it was part of Essex
County Council’s three-year No Excuse campaign to
tackle motoring offences and point out to motorists
that there is no excuse for such offences as speeding
and driving while using a mobile phone, not wearing
seatbelts or without insurance or valid driving
documents.
Certain towns have been selected for particular
attention, based on their history of serious injury and
fatal road crashes.
The first Surround A Town took place in Chelmsford
on May 15, subsequently followed by Colchester,
Harlow and then Basildon. Further operations are
planned through to March 2013.
It’s a great example of partnership working – other
agencies involved include HM Revenue and Customs,
the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA),
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, Trading
Standards and British Transport Police.
Offenders are identified by officers patrolling in cars
or on motorcycles or through automatic number plate
recognition (ANPR) technology. Each operational day
is followed up a fortnight later with a smaller one.
In Basildon, check sites were set up at East Mayne
and London Road, Vange.
A 25-year-old man, from east London, arrested on
suspicion of driving while disqualified and possessing
cannabis was later charged with these two offences,
as well as driving without insurance and appeared in
court the following day.
Four men arrested on suspicion of stealing clothing
from a charity after a truck loaded with collection bags
was stopped were later released without charge, as
was a 25-year-old Basildon man arrested on suspicion
of being involved in a domestic assault.
More than 320 vehicles were stopped and checked –
14 were seized for not being insured, 103 had expired
MoTs, 102 people were not wearing seatbelts and 40
drivers were seen using mobile phones. More than 30
other motoring offences were
discovered.
County council road safety officers gave advice to
more than 170 offending drivers and 70 motorists later
took part in a road safety training course, instead of
paying a £60 fixed penalty fine.
Casualty reduction manager Adam Pipe says:
“Uninsured vehicles have been taken off the roads but
it is disappointing that every time we do these largescale
operations we find that hundreds of people
continue to flout motoring laws that are in place for
road safety reasons.”
Sgt Simon
Willsher
places a notice on a
seized uninsured car
(main picture)
Cars seized during the
Basildon operation are
loaded on to a transporter
(top)
A sign explains why
the operation is
being carried out
Pictures by Simon Willsher
and Bill Stock
UPBEAT November 2012