Southend: Twenty-eight prolific offenders prosecuted following city centre crime crackdown

An operation targeting prolific offenders in Southend city centre has led to 28 people being charged with more than 300 offences.

Operation Raker was launched in September 2023 after research showed a significant proportion of crimes in retail premises - such as thefts and assaults - were being committed by repeat offenders.

Two officers from Southend Town Centre Team have been working with the council’s community safety officers, BID (Business Improvement District) Rangers and retailers for the last seven months to identify and arrest individuals and prevent their offending from escalating.

This had led to 13 people being sentenced to a total of more than seven years in prison, 12 criminal behaviour orders (CBOs) being issued, and the award of more than £13,000 in compensation.

Eight other offenders have been remanded in prison or are on bail pending sentencing.

Those prosecuted include:

• James Butcher, 35, of no fixed abode in Southend, who was sentenced to 17 months in prison for 22 thefts, a burglary, 13 breaches of his CBO and resisting arrest.
• James Colman, 35, of no fixed abode in Southend, was given six and half months in prison, ordered to pay compensation following 10 thefts, criminal damage, and three CBO breaches.
• Sally Burrows, 49, of no fixed abode in Southend, was sentenced to five and half months in prison and ordered to pay compensation after being convicted of three thefts and assault by beating.
• Daniel Rastall, 35, of no fixed abode in Southend, was given eight months imprisonment and a CBO after being convicted of eight thefts.

The operation is coordinated by Sergeant Steve Wells of Southend Town Centre Team.

He said: “By targeting repeat offenders we are making the centre of Southend a safer place to work and shop.

“The individuals who are committing offences like theft, robbery, burglary and anti-social behaviour are being dealt with quicker, and they’re committing fewer crimes than they were previously. This reduces the numbers of victims and retailers that are exposed to harm or loss.

“The local partnerships we’ve built are the key to the operation. The sharing of knowledge and information has become seamless.”

Sgt Wells added that as well as the threat of prison, courts have a wide range of powers available to help offenders break cycles of criminality and limit their potential to re-offend.

“The most impactive orders are CBOs as they limit what people can do and where they can go. Breaching a CBO is a criminal offence, and most offenders understand that breaching their terms could see them sent to prison.

“Courts have also imposed RARs – rehabilitation activity requirements – to help steer those who have drug and alcohol addiction issues away from offending, and they can also use exclusion orders, which ban people from certain places.

“Preventing this type of offending is a priority for us as it has such a detrimental effect on businesses and the community.

“The ultimate goal is for people to see and experience less crime, and the positive feedback we are getting from victims, businesses, the public and our partners is what we measure ourselves on.”

Scott Dolling, manager of Southend BID, said: “The operation's strategic role seems to have paid dividends on some repeat issues we experience in the high street environment. This coordinated approach is one we wholeheartedly support and hope will continue into the future.”

The manager of a service station that had been targeted added: “We’d be lost without them (the Raker officers). I can’t praise them enough. It can be so frustrating to have these people keep stealing from our shop, but Essex Police come in so regularly, they take our reports and are so quick to catch them.”

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