Work across south Essex leads to 20% fall in knife crime

Action aimed at driving down high-harm crime in south Essex has seen knife-related offending fall steadily across the area.

A number of operations tackling weapons offences, drug dealing and robbery were carried out last year in the districts of Basildon, Southend, Castle Point and Rochford.

Teams of officers were focused on busting the drug dealing gangs fuelling the use of weapons and violence.

They have also been working with partners on early interventions for young people at risk of falling into criminality.

Our teams have also been looking to respond swiftly and effectively to incidents of knifepoint robbery.

This work has seen knife-enabled crime fall by 20% in the south of the county over the past 12 months to date.

In the 12 months to 24 June, we recorded 504 knife-enabled offences in these districts, a drop of 128 when compared with the same period last year.

This figure is also a drop of 11% when compared with pre-Covid levels.
Our work in south Essex over the past year precedes the unveiling of the striking Knife Angel sculpture in Southend.

The monument serves as an illustrative symbol against violence involving knives and was crafted using 100,000 confiscated or surrendered weapons, received from 43 police forces across the UK.

The Angel arrived at Victoria Circus on Monday 1 July, where it was unveiled at a ceremony led by the Mayor of Southend and attended by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington alongside partners.

Chief Constable Harrington, accompanied by Southend district commander Chief Inspector Jo Collins, tied white ribbons to the fencing around the Angel in unity and hope and to remember those lost to violent crime.

The Angel is a timely reminder of the importance of our ongoing work to stamp out knife crime and offending which fuels violence.

Southend

In Southend, officers work alongside Southend-on-Sea City Council, the British Transport Police, the c2c railway and seafront businesses as part of Operation Union.

This sees officers maintain a constant presence during the busy summer months, providing a visible deterrent to anyone who misbehaves and diffusing any potential flashpoints.

They are supported by British Transport Police - who monitor activity along the train lines into the city - the council’s community safety officers and CCTV team, and the local private security teams employed by the pubs and leisure attractions.

Operation Union began in 2021 after the city saw huge influxes of day-trippers as the Covid restrictions were relaxed.

Last year, officers on Union patrols made 77 arrests and completed 322 stop and searches, with 45% leading to the discovery of illegal items including drugs, weapons and stolen goods.

Chief Inspector Jo Collins, Southend district commander, said:

“The Knife Angel is a poignant and striking reminder of the devastation caused by knife crime, across individual families and across our wider communities.
“We’re working hard to make Southend a safe place for the people who live and work here, and for those who visit.
“We also introduced Safe Space in August 2023 following a review of crime data within Southend, which highlighted hotspot areas where the public can readily find and talk to us.
“It’s really important we continue to maintain a highly visible presence.
“We’re in the places where we’re needed most, we’re helping people who are vulnerable, and we’re building relationships with the people and our partners who are in those areas.
“There were 48 deployments of Safe Space in Southend where a significant number of stop searches were conducted, resulting in weapons being seized and arrests made.
“These deployments ran alongside the day-to-day work to tackle knife crime, including the use of knife arches, intelligence and proactive policing to identify people who are carrying them.”

Knife-enabled crime is down by 20% in Southend in the 12 months to date, when compared with the same period last year.

Across this period, there have been 215 knife-enabled offences recorded.

Basildon

Last year Operation Mantis was established in Basildon to target criminals known to be involved in offending linked to or fuelling violence in the district.

Under this operation, a dedicated response and investigation team was set up.

It carried out more than 80 arrests, in excess of 100 stop and searches, seized 2kg of drugs and removed numerous illegal weapons from the streets.

Weapons including machetes, knuckledusters, flick knives and Rambo knives were also seized.

The operation also saw the stepping up of engagement with potential offenders most at risk of using weapons.

This tactic involved officers actively approaching and introducing themselves to known offenders likely to be involved in violence.

They would then follow and accompany them on their day-to-day public activities.

Through this engagement, they would be deterred from committing further offences and signposted to partner support agencies to give them opportunities to reform their behaviour.

Operation Mantis culminated in a six-month-long investigation into a drug line supplying cocaine in the district, linked to supply from London.

Stemming from the seizure of a single mobile phone, intelligence led to the execution of six warrants across Essex in September last year.

More than £35,000 in cash and drugs with a street value of over £40,000 were recovered and seized by officers.

Four offenders arrested, charged and convicted under this investigation and are due to be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on 2 August.

Chief Inspector Daniel McHugh, Basildon district commander, said:

“Officers from Operation Mantis worked tirelessly to progress intelligence through copious amounts of phone data, observations and patrols of key locations around the county, culminating in this excellent result – which was one of many successes.
“This enforcement work against committed criminals is crucial, but prevention is just as important.
“It’s not just about hunting down those offenders, it’s about signposting them to diversionary partners and we’re working very closely with our colleagues at the council and in social care.
“We’re reaching out into the wider community to divert young people away from gang affiliation by showing them the benefits of steering clear of that lifestyle and highlighting what may happen if they carry on along that road.
“If they choose violence and the criminal lifestyle, they will have the full force of the law coming down on them.”

Knife-enabled crime is down 18% in Basildon, in the 12 months to date, with 200 offences recorded across this period.

Castle Point and Rochford

The ongoing Operation Falcon has seen a dedicated team targeting and dismantling the organised crime groups and drug dealers contributing to knife crime across the district.

Earlier this month, three women, a man and a teenager were charged with Class A drugs offences after officers carried out warrants at addresses across Canvey Island.

The warrants were carried out at five addresses in Canvey simultaneously on the morning of Friday 7 June.

Operation Falcon carried out the warrants along with our Operational Support Group, which forced entry to the properties, and the force’s dog units.

Inside the properties were several mobile phones believe to be connected to drug dealing, as well as thousands of pounds in bank notes and more than half a kilo of what appeared to be Class A drugs.

Five people were arrested and have now been charged. All are due to appear in court next month.

Chief Inspector Paul Hogben, Castle Point and Rochford district commander, said:

“We know tackling the underlying offending which fuels knife crime is key if we’re to make a difference on this issue.
“We are continuing to target the illicit supply of drugs within the community.
“Operation Falcon 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.
“It’s important residents keep telling us about the issues they are experiencing so we can continue to push on with this work and make sure our teams are where they need to be.”

In Castle Point, knife-enabled crime is down 25% in the 12 months to date, when compared with the same period last year.

In Rochford, knife-enabled crime has fallen by 28% under the same comparison.

Across the force

This work is supplemented by our Serious Violence Unit (SVU), which is made up of specialist teams which dismantle drug lines and look to safeguard those they exploit.

The unit’s Op Raptor South team, which works solely to disrupt county lines gangs in the south of the county, made 43 arrests for weapons offences over the past 12 months to date, with 398 arrests for drug offences.

Speaking ahead of the launch of this year’s Sceptre – a national initiative to tackle knife crime held in May, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Hughes, of the SVU, said:

“We are constantly working to stay on the front foot when it comes to knife crime in Essex, and that means working to identify the trends of who is carrying a knife and for what purpose.
“Within the Serious Violence Unit, our proactive work tackling drug dealing gangs across Essex tells us these groups often exploit children to do their dirty work.
“Often this activity involves the carrying or use of knives, either as an ill-thought-out means of protection, as a show of strength, or even simply out of fear.
“Status and posturing amongst young people caught up in criminality, combined with accessibility – the ability to get hold of knives – all lie at the heart of this issue.
“This is why a whole-system approach to knife crime is absolutely vital, and why we have specialist safeguarding teams embedded within our SVU to protect those who are being exploited by gangs.
“We work extensively with partners in our Violence and Vulnerability Unit, which brings together agencies from the education, health authorities and the criminal justice system to work on early interventions with young people at risk of falling into criminality.”

Are you worried that a friend or someone you know may be being exploited through County Lines or organised criminal activity?

Maybe they are returning home late, staying out all night or even going missing for days or weeks at a time.

Are they suddenly being secretive about who they are talking to or where they are going?

Or perhaps you’ve noticed they have large amounts of money on them, or new clothing, jewellery or phones they wouldn’t be able to afford.

Through Fearless, young people can pass on information 100% anonymously to get help.

If you need help from police, call 101 or, if it's an emergency, always call 999.