19th November
Bravery Commendation for off-duty police officer who arrested man with knife
An off-duty police officer arrested a man wanted for attempted murder while on a day out in Southend with his family.
He pursued the man, who had a knife, and single-handedly arrested and detained him shortly after lunch on 28 June 2024.
PC Harry Lavell has been commended by Essex Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington for his bravery.
Harry was leaving a cafe with his partner, their young daughter and his father-in-law when he spotted two groups of youths who seemed to be antagonising each other.
A fight quickly broke out and, to diffuse the situation, Harry ran towards it, shouting ‘Police!’ loudly. Some of the youths ran off but one of them ran towards Harry and his family.
Harry, a Metropolitan Police officer, made sure his family were at a safe distance and then tackled the man to the ground.
City shoplifter jailed for 32 shop thefts
A Southend man who targeted a city garage, stealing more than £4,000 of food and other groceries, has been jailed.
David Hill, 36, of no fixed address, was spotted and arrested on suspicion of shop theft by a keen-eyed officer from Southend Local Policing Team on 4 November 2024. He was also wanted on recall to prison.
The following day, at the city’s magistrates’ court, he admitted 32 counts of shop theft.
Magistrates were told Hill had targeted the BP garage in West Road between between 15 July and 28 October 2024, often twice a day.
How hotspot patrols are tackling serious violence across the county
Targeted patrols in areas that have a higher probability of a violent incident have led to 66 arrests, 103 stop searches and the seizure of 11 weapons in the past three months.
In the same time period, there has been a 20% reduction in knife-related serious violence and incidents involving knives are down by 10.6% across the county.
There are 15 Operation Grip hotspot areas in Essex: four in Southend, three in Basildon, two in Colchester, and one in each of Chelmsford, Harlow, Clacton, Braintree, Grays and Brentwood.
The patrols see uniformed officers go out on short, sharp foot patrols to prevent violent crime, deter offending and catch people carrying weapons.
The officers also proactively engage with the community and identify areas where improvements could be made with issues like street lighting and CCTV coverage to reduce the possibility of crime and help people feel safer.
Grip is funded by the Home Office and has led to the purchase of a state-of-the-art OpenGate weapons detection system.
When and how to contact the Police
There are now more ways of reporting non-emergency crime and anti-social behaviour through the digital 101 service on the Essex Police website.
You can also use the service to contact your local policing team, report something you have seen or heard, or request information.
There is also a 24-hour Live Chat service, where you can send direct messages to a digital 101 operator plus a 24-hour 101 service which people can call if they feel it is more appropriate to speak to an operator or don’t have access to the internet.
Always call 999 if a serious offence is in progress or has just been committed, someone is in immediate danger or harm, property is in danger or being damaged, or a serious disruption to the public is likely.
If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can use the textphone service 18000 or text on 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service.
British Sign Language (BSL) users can use a video relay service where an interpreter will help you report the crime.
If you’re in danger but you can’t talk on the phone, you should still call 999, then follow these instructions depending on whether you’re calling from a mobile or a landline.
For more information and updates from Essex Police visit www.essex.police.uk.
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