Op Community: Officers arrest five and tackle speeding & anti-social behaviour across the Braintree district

We’re working with the community and retailers to help keep residents, shoppers and staff safe.

And last week, community policing officers, supported by specialist colleagues and Uttlesford District Council staff, were out across the Braintree district, tackling drugs, speeding and anti-social behaviour. They made five arrests.

Their proactive work formed part of Operation Community, which brings together teams from across the force to engage with local residents, businesses and motorists to deliver community safety action alongside partner organisations.

Two early-morning warrants were executed under the Misuse of Drugs Act – one in Calamint Road, Witham, and another, which was connected in Maldon High Street. One man was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs in the Witham area while a second was given a community resolution for possession of cannabis.

In Braintree, officers arrested another man on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs in the Panfield Lane area.

A 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of committing two robberies in Halstead. A man was arrested by officers from our Domestic Abuse Problem Solving Team on suspicion of domestic abuse offences. And a woman was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear at court.

Acting Inspector Kevin Mayle, of Braintree Community Policing Team, says:

“We are working every day to keep our district and our residents and visitors safe and catch criminals and we use proactive days to focus on local concerns, such as speeding, drugs and anti-social behaviour.
“It was a good day. We made five arrests while the rest of our officers were patrolling across the district, listening to the concerns of residents, motorists, business owners and retail staff. The information we gather will help us to target future proactive operational activity.
“As part of our work towards achieving Vision Zero, the aspiration to have no deaths on our roads by 2040, officers also monitored traffic speeds in various rural locations.
“The vast majority of motorists are law-abiding and respect the speed limits on our rural roads.
“Speed limits are there to keep people safe and reduce the likelihood of road traffic collisions. Speeding is one of the Fatal Four offences we need to eliminate in order to achieve Vision Zero.”

Residents have told us that speeding is a major concern of theirs in both Braintree and Uttlesford districts, not only on the A12 and the A120 but on A-roads and minor roads in rural areas.

So officers focused their activity on rural roads and conducted speed checks in nine different locations: Cornish Hall End; Finchingfield; Great Bardfield; Great Chesterford and the B1383; Great Sampford; Stebbing; Thaxted; and Wethersfield.

Altogether, they checked the speeds of 578 vehicles and issued 22 traffic offence reports for speeding, which will result in fixed penalty notices being issued. They were working with an Uttlesford District Council environmental crime enforcement officer, who spoke to several drivers about the law surrounding the disposal of large amounts of waste material, registration and the correct permits required.

In Braintree and Halstead, the focus was on anti-social behaviour and officers mounted 56 hours of high-visibility patrols as they engaged with the public and engaging with the public. They also issued two community protection notices for anti-social behaviour at a property in Peel Crescent, Braintree.

Meanwhile, our licensing officers visited eight pubs in the Saffron Walden and Witham areas, to check they were complying with the terms of their licences.

And Business Crime Team officers visited various shops and businesses in Halstead, promoting best practice in staff safety and theft prevention as well as encouraging retail staff and customers to report anti-social behaviour and theft to us.

Together with Will Garrod, operations manager for ShopSafe, which provides and maintains the TownLink service, officers also delivered radio sets to several retailers. This will help them share vital information about suspects instantly with each other and with the police.

Jane Pryke, supervisor of QD stores in Halstead High Street, was one of the retailers to receive a new TownLink radio.

She says:

“The radios will help all the shops in the town to liaise with each other much more easily and help us to prevent crime. We’ll be able to alert each other and the police, if necessary, and pass on descriptions much more quickly now if we spot anyone causing trouble or stealing in our stores.”

One of our designing out crime officers, Angie Pearson, accompanied the business crime officers to look at premises security following reports of children climbing on to the roofs of buildings in Halstead High Street.

She says:

“It’s having quite an impact on the shopkeepers so I’ll be working with them to see what can be done to prevent access.”

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