Essex Police Dispatch - issue 184
Essex Police Weekly Update
News 30 December to 5 January
Woman reunited with the officers who saved her life
A woman who suffered a cardiac arrest and stroke while driving has been reunited with the police officers who fought to save her.
Jacqueline Alston’s heart stopped beating for more than an hour after the incident in May, but she has since made a miraculous recovery and was able to spend Christmas at home with her family in Braintree.
Her husband, Gary, believes a guardian angel is watching over his wife as a series a fortuitous coincidences meant Jacqueline, 62, quickly received the medical assistance that kept her alive.
“She shouldn’t be here really. Nobody survives a stroke and a cardiac arrest,” Gary said. “If you saw what happened in a film, you’d turn it off because it was unbelievable. Nobody who attended the scene should have been there.”
Saffron Walden: Theft of £20,000 bronze sculpture
We’re investigating the theft of a bronze sculpture from the home of a world-renowned artist.
The theft took place in Arkesden, Saffron Walden, overnight between 5 December and 6 December 2024.
The sculpture, pictured, is the work of well-known sculptor Anne Curry and is signed by her.
It has a manufacturing value of about £20,000, with a sale price of about £60,000.
At this stage, no arrests have been made and we’re pursuing a number of targeted lines of enquiry.
Billericay: PD Khan tracks suspect after car theft
PD Khan has been hard at work yet again!
In the early hours of Saturday, December 28, 2024, officers responded to a report of a vehicle theft in Billericay.
Within 30 minutes of the report, an armed police unit spotted a vehicle, a Lexus, which matched the description of the stolen car.
The vehicle did not stop when signalled to do so and attempted to evade officers. The vehicle was subsequently abandoned in a field close to Barleylands Road.
A dog unit, including PD Khan, was quickly deployed to the scene. PD Khan tracked a suspect across three fields, which allowed officers to make a quick arrest in a ditch.
During the search, PD Khan also located an item believed to be involved in a car theft discarded in a hedge.
A man was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle.
Canvey: Appeal after Somnes Avenue collision
We’re investigating a single-vehicle collision in Somnes Avenue, on Canvey Island, which was reported to us shortly after 5am this morning, Sunday 5 January 2025.
Once on scene, officers found a car had collided with a lamppost and had been badly damaged. There were no occupants in the vehicle and work is ongoing to identify who may have been in the vehicle at the time of the collision.
Our investigation has identified that the vehicle was stolen from an address on the island and we’re now pursuing a number of targeted lines of enquiry.
M11: Appeal after high-end cars spotted racing
Officers investigating dangerous driving on the M11 are appealing for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.
We were called at around 1.30pm on Sunday 29 December to reports of multiple high-end cars swerving across lanes and driving in a reckless manner.
The vehicles were seen to hold up traffic by blocking all lanes, with their hazard lights on.
It is suspected this behaviour was undertaken to allow racing on the carriageway ahead.
This driving was first witnessed on the M11 Northbound near Junction 6, near Theydon Bois, and later in the Harlow area.
Suspect vehicles identified at this stage include Lamborghinis, Audi RS models, Mercedes of unknown model, a Maserati, two Rolls Royce Cullinan models and a Range Rover SVR.
Our Roads Policing Unit is continuing an investigation.
Nearly 350 drink and drug driving related arrests in December
Nearly 350 people were arrested last month by our officers tackling drink and drug driving.
Throughout December, our Roads Policing Unit officers supported the national drink drive campaign Operation Limit to tackle drink driving in particular, and to take dangerous drivers off the road in an effort to reduce the number of killed and seriously injured collisions in Essex.
A total of 339 people were arrested for drink or drug driving-related offences, an increase of nearly 13 percent on the 296 arrests made during the same period last year.
It appears the increase has been driven by an increase in drug driving arrests.
Read more
Answering the Call: Why Laura Sitch Chose to Be a Special Constable
Laura's inspiration to volunteer stemmed from her wish to become a regular officer but she wanted to know what is was going to be like on shift first-hand. This led her to volunteer as a Special Constable in 2012, a decision she has never regretted.
Besides her volunteer work, Laura is a Specials Support Officer in her day-to-day role, balancing her professional and personal life with remarkable skill.
M11: 18 drivers caught doing at least 90mph
Nearly 20 drivers were caught driving at least 90mph on the M11 last weekend as our officers worked to ensure you’re safe on our roads.
On Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 December, officers from our Roads Policing Unit were carrying out speed checks on the M11 and caught 18 drivers travelling at least 20mph over the speed limit.
One driver was found doing 106mph.
Added to that, work elsewhere in the county say seven drivers going between 38 and 40mph in Thorpe Bay on Sunday.
And on Tuesday 31 December, officers captured 37 drivers speeding on our trunk roads, including someone doing 96mph on the A130.
Proceeds of Crime Scheme redistributes £750k of seized assets in a decade
The unique initiative established to give confiscated criminal cash to projects that benefit the community in Essex has celebrated its tenth anniversary.
The Essex Police Proceeds of Crime Scheme was set up by the force with the independent charitable trust Essex Community Foundation (ECF) in 2014 and is the only scheme of its kind in the UK.
Since then, the force has donated £750,000 to the project from cash and the sale of assets confiscated from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
ECF has used the monies to match eligible donations on a two to one basis and establish charitable funds that currently have a combined value of £1.5 million.
These invested funds enable grants to be given away year on year, and to date, £360,000 has been given to local charities and voluntary groups involved in creating safer communities.
Rapid Video Response Team speak to 4,500 victims
Video interviews are reducing emergency response times and improving arrest rates in Essex – thanks to the continued work of our Rapid Video Response Team (RVR).
RVR is a victim-focused investigative tool first rolled out in 2023, working alongside call handlers in our Contact Management Command, which provides another way for domestic abuse victims to report an incident without having to come to a police station or have officers visit their home in a marked police car.
Victims supported by the team have said they appreciated having someone to speak to so quickly, not being rushed on the call, and having the option to speak at home without attending a police station, which can often feel intimidating.
Since the team started work in March 2023 they have delivered 4,500 video consultations.
In addition, they have also delivered over 700 Claire’s Law (Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme) disclosures using the calls.
They have also supported our officers with providing translators virtually and taking accounts during searches for missing people.
Not only do these save time, we estimate that every 1,000 consultations saves about £50,000 in officer hours and policing resources, which means the team has saved Essex Police more than £200,000 since March 2023.
Let's talk
Upcoming community police events across Essex this week
Tuesday 7 January
10am to 11am
Great Tarpots Library, 127 London Road, South Benfleet, Benfleet
11am to 12:30pm
South Essex College, High Street, Grays
Wednesday 8 January
10am to 2pm
Safe to go Stow Hub, 28 The Stow, Harlow, Essex
10:30am to 11:30am
Flowers Community Hall, Lime Close, South Ockendon
10:30am to 11:30am
Lister House Medical Centre, Abercrombie Way, Harlow
12pm to 1pm
Morrisons - Northwick Road, Canvey Island
12:30pm to 1:30pm
The Beacon Centre, Drake Road, Chafford Hundred
Thursday 9 January
9:30am to 11am
Touchpoint, 72 Chapel Hill, Stansted
10am to 11:30am
Little Hallingbury Community Shop, Little Hallingbury
10am to 11am
Tesco Stores Ltd, Princes Road, Chelmsford CM2 9XW
11am to 12pm
Old School Community Cafe,Takeley
11:30am to 12:30pm
Tea on The Heath, Pond Lane, Hatfield Heath
1pm to 2pm
Takeley Park, Station Road, Takeley
2pm to 3pm
Mens Shed, Little Canfield
3pm to 4pm
Co-op, Church Road, Stansted
Friday 10 January
11am to 1pm
Outside Marks & Spencer, 62 High Street, Chelmsford
4pm to 5pm
Knightswick Centre - Furtherwick Road Canvey Island
Saturday 11 January
9am to 9:30am
Barnston Village Hall, Chelmsford Road
10am to 10:30am
St Marys Church (outside), St Marys Place
11am to 12pm
The Snug Cafe, High Easter
11am to 12pm
Co-op, White Street, Great Dunmow
1:30pm to 2pm
Felsted Shop, Station Road
3:30pm to 4pm
Flitch Green Community Centre, Tanton Road
For full details of upcoming events, please visit the Essex Police website and enter your postcode.
A few seconds is all it takes
Keep your car and belongings safe by hiding valuables out of sight and double-check that your car is locked.
Park in well-lit areas and consider investing in additional vehicle security measures like a steering wheel lock.
Be fraud smart
Stay safe when shopping online
We have some top tips to help you stay safe when online shopping in the January sales.
Join our team
Police staff jobs
Digital Forensic Technician £30,783
7 Forces Commercial Services Category Specialist £46,881
Visit our website for full advert, job descriptions and application form.
This week we remember
John Harvey
John Harvey served in the West Riding of Yorkshire before transferring to Essex in 1885. He was posted to Ardleigh on 6 January 1886 and promoted to sergeant there on 1 October 1891. He had a wife and three children, and at the time he died his wife was again pregnant.
On 4 January 1894 John Harvey made some enquiries on his beat, and patrolled for some distance with one of his constables who last saw him at about 7.30pm. The following morning John Harvey’s body was found head first down a well in the snow-covered garden of a cottage in Ardleigh; his watch had stopped at 8.21. There were injuries to the face, but it could not be determined with certainty how they had been caused. It has never been proved whether the Sergeant fell or whether he was pushed.
Leslie Bloom
Leslie Bloom spent all his police service at Colchester, where he qualified as a class one driver and is remembered for his great interest in traffic and road safety. In the early hours of a January morning, Leslie Bloom was riding his motor cycle along Greenstead Road in Colchester on his way to work for an early turn shift, when he hit the back of a parked transit van. He died from his injuries shortly afterwards.
Read more about other Essex officers on the Essex Police Memorial Trust website.