Halstead

Update

There has been a recent spate of burglaries in and around the general area of Halstead which appear to have been committed between 0800hrs and 2000hrs . If you are leaving your home , for no matter how short a period. it is advised to leave a light on inside of the property. All must remain vigilent and report all suspicious activities immediately to the Police.
Essex Police are always giving advice as to how the public can protect their own personal property which includes the marking or photographing of expensive or attractive items, i.e. televisions, jewellery etc. Always ensure that your property is secure before going to bed last thing at night, this includes any outhouse or shed that you have. Do ensure that you leave your car in a secure condition, most thefts from vehicles occur because they have been left unlocked! If you have a garage the best thing to do is to use it. Do not leave items on view to the thief, this is their 'ticket' to break in and steal your property.
Always beware of Bogus Callers who try and enter properties by pretending to be from one agency or another, ie gas, water board etc . Once inside your property they will try to distract you, enabling possibly another person to enter the property and steal anything to be of useful value. It is also worthwhile to security mark all your expensive/attractive items which will assist in the property being returned to you if that once stolen they are found by police. Also for the ladies to be especially careful when out shopping in busy shopping centres. Thieves are especially busy when they know there is more chance of large summs of cash inside handbags and will make every attempt to steal purses. If you have any security devices to attach purses to handbags or any noise alarms, please ensure that they are used. Dont become a victim of crim.
The task of dealing with anti-social behaviour is an ongoing battle which has a direct effect on the local community.
Essex Police are determined to drastically reduce these occurrences and are aware of the ‘hot spots’ and times that they normally occur. The CCTV van has been deployed recently in the hope that it will act as a visual deterent and also advertising that offenders caught on film will have positive action taken against. High visibility police patrols have been increased mainly on a Friday and Saturday night. These patrols appear to have the desired effect with no alcohol or drug related incidents having been reported.
Again assistance from the general public is always appreciated and if any offences are witnessed they are requested to speak to Police who will endeavour to treat any information with the utmost confidentiality.
Halstead are very keen to build up the numbers of volunteers to bolster up The Community Speed Watch (CSW) project. To help combat vehicles speeding around the Halstead area, volunteers are given full training on the use of speed detection devices and Health and Safety issues.This will enable them to spend a few hours per month ( or as much time as they are willing to give) in using the devices to deter offenders. Anyone interested should contact Halstead police station.