Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
We use some essential cookies to make our website work. We’d like to set additional cookies so we can remember your preferences and understand how you use our site.
You can manage your preferences and cookie settings at any time by clicking on “Customise Cookies” below. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Cookies notice.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Sorry, there was a technical problem. Please try again.
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
Essex is a rural county with 72% of the area considered as rural. We understand that the issues faced by those who live and work in these rural areas, are often unique. Rural crime can impact on insurance premiums, food prices and damage local communities.
We have a team of police officers and special constables who focus on supporting our rural communities. Our Rural Engagement Team.
These officers have an understanding about how a rural community works. An in-depth knowledge about the things which matter to our countryside communities. They understand that rural crime and anti-social behaviour can effect livelihoods. They work to prevent, detect, and deter crime, as well as making sure they catch those intent on causing the community harm.
The work of the Essex Police Rural Engagement Team is incredibly diverse. But, whatever we are doing, supporting rural communities and businesses is at the heart of our role.
Ben Felton is a sergeant on our Rural Engagement Team. Here he discusses some of the issues faced by rural communities and how we're working to resolve them.
Managing unauthorised encampments is not without its challenges, says Sergeant Ben Felton.
The Essex Police Rural Engagement Team manages unauthorised encampments across the county all year round but particularly in the spring and summer.
An unauthorised encampment occurs when trespassers occupy land belonging to a private landowner or public authority without permission and with the intention of residing on it.
The mere presence of an unauthorised encampment does not provide police with the power to request people to leave the land. Unauthorised encampments are a civil act of trespass and, as such, the landowner has powers to get the encampment to move on.
If a trespasser refuses to leave when asked, the appropriate and legal course of action is to obtain a civil court action.
For larger, disruptive groups, police do have powers of eviction – under either section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act or section 60C of the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act. However, these can only be used in certain circumstances, for example where the threshold for anti-social behaviour and disruption has been met as outlined in the National Police Chief Council’s guidance.
In Essex, the number of reported unauthorised encampments has fallen by 75% in the past five years. Much of this reduction is down to the Rural Engagement Team applying the law in a consistent, proportionate way.
We understand the frustrations in managing the balance between the rights of individuals to lead a traditional, nomadic lifestyle and the rights of others to enjoy their local community spaces.
Essex Police is a national leader in this area because the Rural Engagement Team are dedicated to the management of unauthorised encampments, are the force experts on the relevant legislation and are experienced in assessing encampments and making appropriate decisions.
This knowledge benefits and protects our travelling communities and the local community, too.
We visit every encampment reported to us, as soon as we can. We assess the location, speak to the people there, setting out expectations around conduct, what the relevant legislation states, while taking into account the rights of all communities.
This includes being clear about our expectations about acceptable behaviour and what actions might cause them to be evicted.
We work with local authorities to minimise disruption to the local community and continue to monitor the encampments, visiting them regularly.
At all times, we communicate clearly with the parties involved, explaining exactly what we are going to do and why, then applying the law.
If there are no legal grounds to request people to vacate the land, we will mediate and resolve concerns on all sides to help them better understand each other. This helps to reduce any future tensions.
We also keep the wider community informed about what will happen and why we have made certain decisions. To do this, we use our network of parish council and partner agency contacts to make sure we can update as many people as possible.
It is this approach which has seen a significant reduction in unauthorised encampments in Essex over the past five years.
In the year to 31 August 2018, we received reports of 226 unauthorised encampments. This had reduced to 66 in the 12 months to 31 August 2023, of which 13 (20%) were required to vacate the land they had stopped on.
Fly-tipping is disgusting, dangerous, anti-social and illegal, says Sergeant Ben Felton.
According to Government statistics, local authorities in England dealt with 1.08million incidents of fly-tipping in 2023.
And 40% of that rubbish was dumped on highways and pavements. The most common size of a fly-tip was equivalent to a small van or car boot. The most common rubbish dumped is household items.
The cost of fly-tipping is huge. In 2021 the cost to local authorities and agencies was £392million.
The worst we have seen in Essex in recent years was 20 tonnes of waste, including asbestos, dumped in a car park at Weald Country Park near Brentwood, on 18 January this year.
So, who deals with fly-tipping? Well, the answer is not as clear as you may think.
If rubbish is left in a public place and it is less than a lorry load, then the local authority has responsibility for leading the investigation and clearing up. If it’s lorry-sized or larger, or linked to crime, then the Environment Agency leads the investigation.
But what about rubbish dumped on private land? Well, surprisingly, it’s down to the landowner to clean up. And that can involve significant cost.
Is that fair or sustainable? Many landowners would say not.
So, what do the police do about fly-tipping?
Whilst we are not the lead agency for investigating this issue, we definitely should be involved. Fly-tipping is a rural issue and that one our residents frequently complain about at public meetings.
In Essex, we carry out joint, high-visibility patrols with council waste enforcement officers. Council staff do not have powers to stop vehicles they suspect may be carrying waste. But a police officer can use our powers under the Road Traffic Act to stop vehicles, while council staff can use their powers to deal with any waste carrier licence issues.
We work with local councils to identify areas suffering high numbers of incidents, then patrol those areas together.
And we also work closely with landowners, through our farmers’ meetings, to give advice around capturing evidence and securing land to deter incidents.
Nationally, this is an issue being looked at by police and Government. Charges for private DIY waste at waste disposal sites were reduced or completely abolished two years ago. But the cost of getting DIY waste collected and disposed of by a waste clearance company can be high.
Many people resort to using significantly cheaper businesses. But they can be cheaper for a reason. They may be unlicensed and that waste may end up in a country lane – not in a waste disposal site – with all the associated cost to the clearer.
As you can see, solving this issue needs agencies to come together. It doesn’t matter who the lead agency is, no single one can do it alone.
It’s imperative to get information out there. My team has a good social media following (do follow @EPRural on X, or Twitter as was) and we regularly highlight our work tackling fly-tipping. We also use our team newsletter to raise the issue and inform and educate.
If we make households aware of the issue and the reality of unlicensed waste disposal, we hope they will think twice before using a cheap service.
In Essex we will continue to work with our council waste enforcement officers and seek to prosecute where we have the evidence to do so; we will continue to speak to our landowners and support them as best we can; and we will keep raising this issue on our social media and at meetings to help inform and educate the public.
Finally, we need everyone to take responsibility for ensuring the safe and legal disposal of all the rubbish they generate.
Livestock worrying is a concern in rural areas but one we aim to tackle, says Sergeant Ben Felton
Sadly, we do see attacks on livestock in Essex. The National Farmers Union (NFU) says attacks have risen 50% across the UK since before the pandemic. The cost to UK farming is £1.8million a year, up from £1.2million before the pandemic.
It appears a rise in dog ownership during the Covid period has meant a corresponding rise in attacks on livestock since.
When NFU Mutual carried out a survey of 1,100 dog owners, 64% admitted their dog chased animals, while 39% said their dog didn’t come back when called.
We have found attacks on livestock in Essex range from cases where the owners of properties neighbouring a farm have not secured their fences and allow dogs to roam unsupervised, to owners walking dogs in rural areas off the lead around livestock.
We dealt with a particularly distressing case last November. Two dogs escaped a property next to a farm and began attacking sheep. Five were killed. Our officers arrived to find the dogs still attacking sheep - with no owner in sight. Regrettably, one of the dogs was completely out of control and the difficult decision was made to dispatch it humanely, to protect the sheep.
And in December, a dog escaped another property with poorly-maintained fences and injured several sheep nearby. Fortunately, none needed to be put down.
In such cases, our team investigates. We have specialist training and knowledge of rural crimes and understand the impact this type of incident can have on farmers and livestock owners.
Usually, they don’t want the dog owner prosecuted. They simply want to ensure the dog will never attack livestock again and that the cost of any vet’s bills or replacement animals is covered.
We discuss all options with them, from prosecution through to a police caution or a community resolution.
A community resolution is an alternative to court. The dog owner must admit fault and agree to abide by certain conditions, such as muzzling their dog, keeping it on a lead and avoiding livestock in fields.
And they will often have to compensate the animals’ owner for their losses or costs. This approach is very effective at preventing repeat attacks.
Our team also works proactively to reduce attacks. We use bikes to patrol country parks and areas where attacks have been reported to engage with dog owners. We provide advice and guidance and try to educate those who may not have grown up in a rural community.
The Government is taking this issue seriously. Measures from the proposed Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will be taken forward individually as single-issue bills to strengthen existing laws under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953.
They should expand protection to llamas, emus and donkeys and increase police powers to seize dogs and enter private premises.
All of this will be very welcome and will significantly increase our ability to tackle and investigate such crimes.
We want everyone to be able to enjoy our beautiful countryside but in a responsible way.
We are lucky to have a Chief Constable and a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner who believe rural communities deserve high-quality policing.
But how do we achieve that goal in a county that is 72% rural?
In 2018, a specialist team was set up to lead and advise the force on rural issues. Now known as the Rural Engagement Team, we are in our fifth year of operation.
Our team is made up of 10 regular constables, four special constables – who volunteer their policing time for free – two sergeants and an inspector. Working seven days a week, we lead the force in tackling issues including:
Our team’s job is to understand and tackle rural crime and make those important community links.
Engagement very much sits equally alongside enforcement. You can be as effective as you like but you need to tell people what you’re doing in their area to gain their trust and their confidence.
And, of course, we need them to tell us what their concerns are, too.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve attended more than 100 engagement events – from parish council meetings to country shows and village fetes.
We also visit village primary schools to teach the children about the role of a police officer and road safety. We like to get the children involved and conduct speed checks outside their own schools. When we stop a speeding motorist, they have the choice of receiving a fixed penalty notice or explaining to the children why they were speeding. Nothing hits home like being told off by a nine-year-old!
We are very much front-line cops. While out on patrol, we will attend any incident if required. Our 4x4 vehicles are often called upon to rescue motorists from floods or ditches, pull trees off roads and access off-road areas.
But we are also specialists in our field.
As wildlife experts, much of our daily work involves investigating animal crimes such as poaching, hare coursing and livestock worrying.
We also carry out high-visibility patrols in isolated areas that don’t often see police officers. And we’ve reintroduced police mountain bikes to patrol our country parks and remote coastal areas – getting to places our patrol vehicles can’t.
Summer sees us managing unauthorised encampments. We take a consistent and common-sense approach, speaking to everyone involved and balancing the needs of the travelling community with those of local landowners and residents.
Reducing the impact an encampment can have on a community and managing any tension is vital. In Essex, the number of unauthorised encampments has reduced by 75% in the time we’ve been operating.
In late summer and autumn, we see a rise in theft of agricultural equipment. We recently investigated a spate of thefts of £380,000 of GPS receiver units and equipment from tractors at 13 farms and estates.
Initially, we had no suspect vehicle and no clear CCTV of the suspects. But diligent work from our officers identified a suspect, whose phone placed him at the scene of each theft and identified his accomplice. The two men are now serving a total of six years and 10 months in prison.
During the winter, we focus on hare coursing, a cruel and barbaric criminal activity. Incidents of hare coursing across Essex reduced by 50% in the year to 31 March 2023, compared with the previous 12 months.
We work closely with the National Police Air Service and with neighbouring forces to spot and track offenders. Early in 2023, we were the first force in the country to get a dog banning order against a convicted hare courser.
We encourage the reporting of crime because we can only tackle crime effectively if we know where and when it is happening.
We use this information to identify trends and repeat locations and target our policing operations. It’s a very effective way to disrupt criminals and reduce crime.
So, my advice is to report rural crime. We do respond, we do care and we do catch criminals as a result.
Anyone with information should contact us as soon as possible.
You can let us know by submitting a report online or by using our Live Chat service.
Our Live Chat service is available on our website 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can send and receive real-time messages with an online operator.
To use the service, select the ‘Live Chat’ icon at the bottom right of your screen when you're on our website.
Or you can call us on 101.
Visit our 'Help Us Help You' page to find out more about different ways of reporting.
You can read Sgt Felton's column every other month in NFU Countryside magazine, starting with the February 2024 issue.