Marine Watch

The 350 mile long Essex coast is the second longest coastline of any English county. With the River Thames Estuary to the south, the county has other navigable waterways including the rivers Lee and Stort in the west, the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation to the east.

Marine Watch is offered as a service to the marine and freshwater communities. It is aimed at boat owners, persons who partake in water based activities, or services, local members of the public and also visitors to the coast and internal waterways of Essex.

Marine Watch aims

• To reduce any criminal activity, vandalism or theft within the community.
• To foster community spirit amongst marine and waterway users and local residents .
• Develop and encourage closer liaison between the marine and freshwater communities, Essex Police, and partner agencies.
• To encourage the use of crime prevention measures and educate those who use, live, work or visit the Essex coast or waterways.
• To encourage the reporting of all suspicious activity, including Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery.
• To protect and encourage the reporting of terrorist activity within the marine and waterways of Essex

What Marine Watch will do

• Liaise with Community Marine Watch Members through a dedicated Essex Watch Liaison Officer (EWLO).
• Provide members with information in relation to relevant crimes.
• Provide advice regarding security measures.
• Inform members of relevant news and events
• Work with key partners, such as Essex Waterways Ltd, Canal & River Trust , local councils, local communities and neighbouring forces to tackle marine related crime.

To join, please return the completed form overleaf by post to:

Essex Watch Liaison Officers, c/o LPSU, Essex Police Headquarters, PO Box 2, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 6DA

You can also send it via email to:
[email protected]

Essex Police on social media

We're on all the main social networks.  See all the details and links on our social media page.

Reporting incidents

Firstly, do not put yourself in harm's way. For crimes in progress or if life is in danger, always call 999.

You can use our live chat service any day between 7am and 11pm or report crime and anti-social behaviour on our website.

Or, for all non-urgent crime call 101.

For anonymous reporting, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org

What we might need to know

• Report the incident as soon as possible
• Include information such as incident location including landmarks or your phone’s GPS location. You can use the free What3Words smartphone application to pinpoint your location anywhere in the world to a 3 metre square with three words.
• Provide as much detail as possible about what you have seen and heard, such as descriptions of persons seen, vehicles (including make, model, colour, registration, direction of travel)
• Any dash cam footage or photographic evidence