Castle Point and Rochford: Meet the District Commander, Chief Inspector Paul Hogben

Castle Point and Rochford’s District Commander, Chief Inspector Paul Hogben, has outlined his policing priorities for the area.

He said tackling vehicle theft, drug dealing, and anti-social behaviour will be the focus for his team in the coming months as they look to continue the positive work that has led to falling crime rates and improved public confidence.

“Castle Point and Rochford are two districts with a real sense of community,” said Ch Insp Hogben. “In terms of policing, it gives us lots of variety from the busy high streets, the rural communities and a busy international airport.

“Car theft is a big priority for us as we’ve seen an increase in this type of offending. We've got officers working around the clock developing intelligence and targeting those responsible.

“We’ve recovered a lot of stolen vehicles this year and that is in part down to members of the public contacting us when they’ve spotted something that doesn’t feel right to them.

“We are also continuing to target the illicit supply of drugs within the community. We've got a dedicated team known as Operation Falcon who have had huge success already in terms of targeting organised crime groups, and they've secured decades in prison sentences and have seized hundreds of thousands of pounds in drugs and cash.”

Op Falcon-led warrants at four locations in Southend and one in Rayleigh on Wednesday 17 April led to two men appearing in court in relation to vehicle theft and Class A drug supply offences.

Anti-social behaviour has fallen considerably in the two districts with 404 fewer offences reported in the 12 months to the end of March.

Ch Insp Hogben said his team will be repeating the operation first initiated last summer after feedback from the public about people causing problems in public spaces:

“We know the impact anti-social behaviour has on communities. Last summer we instigated Operation Green Space, which was a high-visibility operation putting officers into our parks and open spaces throughout the summer months. This led to a 37% reduction in anti-social behaviour within those areas.”

Ch Insp Hogben added that improving communication with local residents and keeping them informed about the issues that matter most to them was paying off:

“We’re listening to the community, and we’ve focussed on telling people about the work we’re doing to combat the issues they’ve told us are important to them such as drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and vehicle theft.

“If you see our officers out on patrol, please come and talk to us and tell us what's affecting you, and we'll do everything we can to help.

“Across the district, recorded crime is down by around 9.5%. We’re identifying our crime hotspots, analysing where the demand is and getting our resources in the right places at the right time.”

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