Almost 150 arrests in one week as force tackles crime across Essex

Our force is on the front foot of fighting crime – that’s the message from senior officers after almost 150 arrests in the county at the end of October.

Teams across Essex Police executed warrants and arrested wanted individuals for high-harm crimes such as sexual offences, drugs offences, burglaries, robberies and assaults between Saturday 21 and Sunday 29 October.

Among these was a man wanted in connection with a serious sexual assault on a woman in her 60s, who has now been arrested, charged and will appear at Chelmsford Crown Court later this month.

Also included was a driver on the A12 who was stopped for driving without insurance. The officers then searched the vehicle, found Class A and Class B drugs and arrested the driver for possession with intent to supply, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.

Officers then searched a property connected to the suspect outside of Essex and found more cash, suspected Class A drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Our officers have been proactively policing Essex’s major roads and rural lanes to keep the public safe from drivers like this.

Our teams carried out more than 1,750 speed checks, recorded 538 traffic offences, stopped more than 750 vehicles, and seized 78 of those, including scramblers and e-scooters that were not fit for the road.

‘Expect to hear from us’

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Mariner said:

“Our ongoing crackdown on serious and high-harm crime means that crime is down in Essex.
“And we’re not just out on the street and arresting suspects – we’re solving more sexual crimes, more robberies and more burglaries than this time last year.
“This is thanks to the fantastic commitment of our teams countywide, and our commitment as a force to use all the tools we have at our disposal to prevent crime and catch criminals.
“These arrests show that criminals in in our county should expect to hear from us.”

‘We are a forward-thinking force’

During this week we deployed Live Facial Recognition technology for the first time in Essex, with mobile cameras on vans in public places in Southend and Chelmsford.

The deployment, with the support of South Wales Police which owns the equipment, focussed on a specific list of people wanted in connection with incidents such as violent or sexual offences.

In total there were five positive alerts, with arrests made in connection with rape and robbery investigations, and an outstanding warrant.

There was another positive alert for someone we wanted to speak to in connection with an ongoing sexual abuse case and they will be voluntarily interviewed at a later date.

Detective Superintendent Stephen Jennings said:

“Essex Police is a forward-thinking force and we are always looking at how new technology can help us keep people safe, catch criminals, and deter crime.
“The vans also acted as a talking point with the public and gave us an opportunity to speak to them about its use and how it works. I’m pleased to say that the reaction we’ve had has been overwhelmingly positive.”