Community Policing Team - Inspectors Blog

Last weekend I was honoured to be representing Essex Police alongside the Chief Inspector and the Chief Constable at the remembrance parade and service on Sunday.  The community policing team and Colchester special constables were working alongside the city council and partners to support this important event in which all communities come together to remember and honour those who have given their lives in the service of their country in two world wars and other conflicts to the present day.

The community policing team were also out on Wednesday evening for the Colchester Christmas Light switch on and parade which was a fantastic community event.  I am pleased that the majority of people visiting the city centre were enjoying this family event safely.  We work very closely with partners to support such events and ensure that those attending are safe and it is great way for the team to engage with the public.  We will continue to be visible in the city centre in the lead up to Christmas as unfortunately we do tend to see an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour with an increase of visitors to the city centre.  It is really important that we take steps to keep ourselves safe this Christmas, please read the information available on our crime prevention pages Crime prevention advice | Essex Police and in particular the advice to protect ourselves from street robbery How to protect yourself from street robbery | Essex Police

Over the week we have been focussing on two national Operations including OP SCEPTRE which focusses on reducing and preventing knife crime and OP CALIBRE which focusses on reducing and preventing robbery offences.  We have been engaging in a wide range of activity including knife sweeps, retailer engagement, school engagement, hi-visibility patrols and proactively targeting those we know are involved in these types of offences.   Local officers have completed 19 stop and searches throughout the week which has resulted in seizure of controlled substances and an offensive weapon.  One person was arrested and another dealt with by means of a community resolution.  A member of the public also called police this week having found a number of weapons at her address that needed to be destroyed.  You can deposit knives and other weapons safely into the knife bin located outside Colchester Police Station situated on Southway, at any time.  If you cannot attend the station then let us know via email and we will collect and destroy this weapons for you, contact us at colchestercommunitypolicingteam@essex.police.uk

Every day we complete high visibility patrols in specific areas of Colchester where we have had higher numbers of serious offences as part of the national operation OP GRIP.  As part of Operation Grip we are looking at understanding and tackling serious harm in Colchester. To this aim the Op Grip Team have created a survey alongside Colchester BID in order to find out how the public feel about their safety and issues that may affect them, particularly during the Night Time Economy on Friday and Saturday evenings.  It’s a short survey that you can access via a QR code (attached as a poster) or via the link https://forms.office.com/e/TSYCJwdjze

Our engagement in the city centre has been increased this week due to the events and operations that have been taking place.  There have been multiple arrests and charges for individuals involved in crime this week including arrests for possession of a knife or bladed article and arrest and charges for theft offences.  We will continue to challenge those in breach of the PSPO and continue working with partners to prevent crime and bring offenders to justice.  Please be vigilant around the city centre and provide any information you may have regarding a crime or Anti-Social Behaviour via our website Something you've seen or heard | Essex Police or anonymously via Crimestoppers Giving information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)