Chief Inspector’s Update

ESSEX Police’s Chief Inspector Jo Collins, District Commander for Southend, attended the recent Leigh Town Council’s July 25 meeting.

Chief Inspector Collins provided the meeting with an insight into local Policing, along with some very positive statistics.

As it was difficult to hear what the Chief Inspector had to say, during the meeting, she very kindly provided the following statement recounting her report, including an appeal for local residents to volunteer to assist with the Community Speed Watch: “Apologies that you couldn’t hear my update at the meeting.

“I have provided a brief summary of the things discussed below, but these are figures for just Leigh and not Westcliff as I didn’t discuss these at the meeting.

“We are continuing to run Operation Union throughout the summer months along the waterfront areas of Southend and Leigh. This is our response to the increase in footfall from visitors to the City of Southend during the busier times and allows us to have sufficient resources to respond to incidents and keep the public safe. This will continue until September 2023 when the school holidays end.

“Anti- Social Behaviour (ASB) figures for the whole of Southend District (not just Leigh) are showing a 32.4% reduction in reported incidents (rolling 12 months to June, so 2023 compared to 2022). We are also solving more ASB as the number of solved ASB offences has also increased in the last year also.

“We are also running Operation Community, which involves our Community Policing Teams working with partners in the Council and other teams as part of the Community Safety Partnership to tackle criminal activity and ASB. This is a monthly day of intensification in order to take a proactive approach to address local issues before they escalate.

“In relation to other crimes reported with the Leigh area the below indicates the current position for a few crime types. Comparisons are 18.7.21 – 17.7.22 against current year 18.7.22 – 17.7.23.

“Residential Burglary – 53.5% down on previous year. Criminal Damage  – 15% reduction. Possession of drugs offences – 35.5% reduction. Vehicle Crime  – 31% increase.

“In relation to vehicle crime, Essex Police have introduced Op Ignition, which is a dedicated team to target vehicle thefts. It comprises of officers and staff from specialist teams including investigators, stolen vehicle unit and roads policing to provide a coordinated response to emerging issues and trends. This team will be used to support our ongoing activity in this area.

“Speeding was also mentioned and in Leigh, in the last year there have been nine speed enforcement days where 59 tickets have been issued and a number of defective vehicle offences have been identified, as well as no MOT and drivers not wearing a seatbelt.

“The below is a request from the council for any local residents interested in joining Community Speed Watch as a volunteer.

“The Southend City Council is currently recruiting Community Speed Watch (CSW) volunteers to help run sessions throughout the City to record and report speeding vehicles. The coordination of CSW volunteers is now managed by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and more information about becoming a volunteer can be obtained by emailing [email protected].”

Read more.

Visit: https://leigh-on-sea.news

Contact us. Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leighonsea.news

Twitter: @leighonsea_news

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leighonsea.news