Essex Police Dispatch - issue 173
Essex Police Weekly Update
News 14 October to 20 October
The family of Kieran Shepherd called him 'kind and loving'
Chelmsford: Two more men charged with murder
Detectives investigating the death of Kieran Shepherd have charged two more men.
The charges come as part of the investigation into the death of Kieran Shepherd who was assaulted in Meadgate Avenue, Chelmsford, at about 12.30pm on Tuesday 15 October and, sadly, died at the scene.
Joseph Dawe, 20, of Greenland Gardens, Great Baddow and Zack O’Keeffe, 19, Stafford Green, Langdon Hills, Basildon, will both appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday 21 October.
Both men have been charged with murder.
Harrison Carpenter, 19, of Ben Wilson Link, Springfield, Chelmsford appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday 19 October to answer a charge of murder and will appeal at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday 21 October.
Benfleet: Investigation into woman's death launched
Detectives have launched an investigation and are appealing for information following the death of a woman in Benfleet.
Officers and colleagues from the ambulance service were called to Kale Road, Benfleet, shortly after 3pm on Thursday 17 October to reports of a woman being found with serious injuries.
Sadly, a woman died at the location. Her death is being treated as unexpected and officers have launched an investigation to establish how she became injured.
This is being treated as an isolated incident and we continue to believe there is no threat to the wider community.
As part of our enquiries, a man has been arrested in connection with our investigation and he has now been released.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Essex Police on 101 and quote incident number 652 of 17 October.
Commercial Vehicle Unit use HGV and camera to record driving offences
Commercial Vehicle Unit using an HGV, captures on camera motorists not wearing seatbelts and using mobile phones whilst driving on major road networks.
Our Commercial Vehicle Unit (CVU) stopped a record 221 drivers and reported 168 drivers for a variety of offences as part of a five-day focus to tackle issues affecting road safety as part of their work patrolling the strategic road network in Essex.
Between 7 and 11 October, our CVU used a super cab provided by National Highways as part of Operation Tramline, a national project which aims to reduce collisions and incidents, and improve safety, journey time and reliability on major roads.
The height of the super cab allows an officer to look into larger vehicles to observe distracting behaviours such as mobile phone use and enforce the law by capturing the incident on camera, before stopping the vehicle and speaking to the driver about the offence.
Over the five-day period, 221 vehicles were stopped across Essex, and 168 drivers were reported for a variety of offences, four vehicles were seized for no insurance and six arrests were made for drug driving.
The highest number of offenders were reported for not wearing a seatbelt (77 people) followed by 40 drivers reported for using a mobile phone whilst driving on M25, M11 and A12. Alongside drug or drink driving and speeding, these offences are part of the Fatal Four and are known factors that contribute to killed and seriously injured collisions.
Man who collided with a school bus has been disqualified
Emergency services were called to Walton-on-the-Naze following a three-vehicle collision at around 10am on Friday 14 July last year.
Upon arrival, officers found two cars and a coach carrying school pupils had been in collision in Kirby Road.
Witnesses described how a Punto, in an attempt to overtake, clipped a Discovery car with such momentum that the Fiat left contact with the road and “flew” into the front of the oncoming coach travelling in the opposite direction.
Roadside enquiries established that the driver of the Fiat Punto, Leo Stevens, was only a provisional licence holder.
The 27-year-old from The Avenue, Clacton, was summonsed to answer three charges:
driving without due care and attention
no insurance
driving not in accordance with his licence
Leo Stevens appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court on Monday 14 October when he was banned from driving for 24 months and fined £452. He had pleaded guilty to all three offences at an earlier hearing.
Shoplifting: officers arrest 1,358 suspects in the past year
Our Business Crime Team works with retailers and business partners to target shoplifters and bring them to justice.
In the past 12 months, officers have made 1,358 arrests for shop theft offences* in Essex, secured 2,443 charges and solved 593 more offences than in the previous year.
Thurrock: Man jailed for kidnapping and criminal damage
A kidnapper, who was part of a gang who tied up their victim and left him in the back of his own lorry while it was ransacked, has been jailed.
In March this year the driver of a lorry called police to report he had been stopped by what he thought were “plain clothed officers in an unmarked car" who had taken stock from his lorry.
Officers were quickly dispatched to an industrial estate in Grays where they found the victim with his legs still bound together with cable ties.
The court heard that in the early hours of March 21, the lorry driver had left the depot in Corringham with a shipment of bananas from Colombia and was heading to the A13 when a black Kia Ceed pulled in front of the lorry and activated blue lights. A second vehicle boxed him in from behind.
Business Crime Team launches new workplace initiative
The Business Crime Team launched their Just Here To Work campaign at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock on Wednesday 16 October, visiting stores and outlets to speak to managers and staff.
It’s an evolution of the team’s Just Here To Train initiative which addresses harassment and unwanted attention in gyms, highlighting inappropriate behaviour, showing victims how to report it and providing them with information about the support available.
Essex Police host National Black Police Association annual conference
Officers and specialist police staff from across UK meet in Stansted.
NBPA President Andy George tells politicians, police leaders and officers plus event host BBC journalist Clive Myrie:
"It’s you, the people in this audience, that give me the energy and strength to carry on."
Essex Police says the force has been showing Body Worn Video footage of officers’ work to local communities for more than two years.
Chief Constable says it’s this kind of open and positive action that is building trust and cutting crime in Essex.
Harlow: 'We remain determined to secure justice for the Shakoor family'
The family were asleep at their terraced home at 1.40am on 15 October 2012 when the fire took hold of the downstairs of the property.
PFCC announces further £1.6m investment to drive down anti-social behaviour
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex has announced £1.6m of new funding this year to drive down anti-social behaviour (ASB) in 15 targeted hotspot areas of Essex.
The funding will build on the success of £1.1m of funding invested in 13 hotspots last year, which took place under the name Operation Dial.
This operation resulted in reports of anti-social behaviour dropping by 13 per cent across Essex, a statistic which drew national attention when highlighted by the Government.
This money will be used for extra high-visibility police patrols, community safety patrols and crime intervention projects.
The 15 hotspots, which include areas of Colchester, Southend, Basildon, Chelmsford and Braintree, have been identified by data built from public reports of ASB to Essex Police.
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “I’m very pleased to announce £1.6m is now available for a second year of targeted anti-social behaviour intervention.
Let's talk
Upcoming community police events across Essex this week
Monday 21 October
10am to 11am
Little Hallingbury Post Office, Lower Road, Little Hallingbury
11am to 12pm
Henham Community Shop, High Street, Henham
11am to 12pm
Costa Coffee, 2 Victoria Road, Buckhurst Hill
11am to 12pm
Ashfields, Green Street, Great Canfield
Tuesday 22 October
10am to 11am
Dainteas Tea Room, Roding Hall, High Roding
10:30am to 12pm
Village Hall, Arkesden
11am to 12pm
Corringham library, St Johns Way
12pm to 1pm
East Tilbury Hub, Princess Avenue, East Tilbury
1:45pm to 2:45pm
Rochford Banking hub, West Street, Rochford SS4 1AJ
2pm to 3pm
Takeley Park, Station Road, Takeley
3pm to 3:30pm
Outside Porters Grange Primary School, Lancaster Gardens, Southend
4pm to 5pm
Centre Place, Kursaal Estate, Southend
Wednesday 23 October
10am to 12pm
Walton Forum, High Street, Walton on Naze
10am to 12pm
Village Hall, High Street, Widdington
10:30am to 12pm
Alresford book cafe St Andrews Church, St Andrews Close, Alresford
11am to 12pm
Stanford Le Hope Library, High Street
11am to 12pm
Vange Riverview Centre, Vange, Basildon
Thursday 24 October
10:30am to 11:30am
Walton Library, 52 High Street, Walton on Naze
11am to 11:30am
Outside Tesco, Prince Avenue, Westcliff
12pm to 1pm
Nisa Local, 86 Pound Ln, Bowers Gifford, Basildon
3pm to 4pm
Costa Coffee, Waterglade Retail Park, Next, Unit 3, Old Road, Clacton on Sea,
6pm to 7pm
Stansted Library
72 Chapel Hill
Friday 25 October
10am to 12pm
Co-op Food, 45 Spa Rd, Hockley SS5 4BE
10am to 12pm
Joining Peabody at the Walton foodbank, Standley Road, Walton on Naze.
10:30am to 11:30am
W Howard & Son Funeral Directors, 32 High Road Orsett
11am to 11:30am
Kent Elms Library, 1 Rayleigh Road, Eastwood
12pm to 1pm
IKEA Lakeside (Customer restaurant), Heron Way, Essex
3pm to 4pm
Co-op, Church Road, Stansted
Saturday 26 October
9am to 11am
Saffron Walden Library, 2 Kings Street, Saffron Walden
10am to 11am
Morrison's Supermarket, Centenary way, Little Clacton.
11am to 1pm
Unit 17, The Grove Shopping Centre, Witham
11:30am to 1:30pm
Great Dunmow Library, White Hart Way, Great Dunmow
2pm to 3pm
Southend Victoria Train Station, Victoria Avenue, Southend
For full details of upcoming events, please visit the Essex Police website and enter your postcode.
Street crime is often opportunistic
Never leave a mobile, any other device, wallet or purse on the table of an outdoor café, pub or restaurant – thieves can grab a phone from a table in seconds.
Be fraud smart
What is phishing?
'Phishing' is when criminals use fake emails, text messages or phone calls to reel you in. Their aim is often to make you visit a website which may download a virus onto your computer or steal personal information.
Criminals use information about you that’s available online (including on social media sites) to make their phishing messages more convincing.
To help stay safe be mindful of what details you post online and set your accounts to only people you know.
Join our team
Police staff jobs
IT - Senior Network Engineer £40,170
Leadership and Development Trainer £32,244
Practice Nurse £38,754
Commercial Services Category Specialist £48,339
Supplier Relationship Manager for ICT and Corporate £46,881
Polygraph Officer £33,915
Telephonist £22,230
Business Services Assistant £24,219
Intelligence Support Officer £24,921
Campaigns and Partnerships Manager £45,546
Visit our website for full advert, job descriptions and application form.
Obituaries
Ian Wright
The Chief Constable regrets to inform you of the sad death of our former colleague Ian Wright who retired as a Chief Superintendent in 1994 and served at Headquarters, Grays, Brentwood and Southend.
He passed away on Sunday 22 September 2024 aged 85 years.
David Gilbert Jones
The Chief Constable regrets to inform you of the sad death of our former colleague David Gilbert Jones who retired as a Sergeant in 2001 and served with the Metropolitan Police, then transferred to Essex where he served at Southend, Laindon, Billericay, Basildon and the Federation.
He passed away on Monday 30 September 2024 aged 78 years.
Joseph Freeman
The Chief Constable regrets to inform you of the sad death of our former colleague Joseph Freeman who retired as a D/Constable in 1996 and served at Southend, Colchester CID, Special Branch and Harwich.
He passed away on Sunday 29 September 2024 aged 86 years.