Essex Police
Encyclopedia
Essex Police is a territorial police force
responsible for policing the county of Essex
in the east of England.
It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officer
s and operating across an area of over 1400 square miles (3,626 km²) and with a population of around 1.6 million people.
The Chief Constable
is Jim Barker-McCardle since September 2009.
Assistant Chief Constable for Media Relations Gary Beautridge is also simultaneously ACC for Area Operations for Kent Police
due to the two forces forming a joint Serious Crime Directorate.
In 1969 it amalgamated with Southend-on-Sea Borough Police
to form Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary, which was renamed as Essex Police in 1974.
s.
Its headquarters, the Force Information Room (where emergency calls are routed to) and Essex Police College, are all located in Chelmsford
, within the Central Division.
Strategically, Essex is an important force. Bordering London, the force area consists of affluent city suburbs, large urban areas, industrial centres, rural villages, London Stansted Airport
(one of the busiest international airports in the country) and two of the UK's major ports (Harwich
and Tilbury
). The force also polices one of the largest expanses of coastline of any force in the UK. The police area
covers 1400 square miles (3,626 km²) and has a population of around 1,600,000.
The Chief Constable
is Jim Barker-McCardle, who replaced Roger Baker in September 2009.
The force has been a regular innovator and is often used by the Home Office
to trial new procedures and equipment, including automatic number plate recognition
(ANPR), Lantern (handheld wireless fingerprint verification) and the X26 Taser
.
Essex Police was also the subject of the television series Police Interceptors
, which followed the work of the specialist Mobile Support Division's ANPR intercept unit that utilise high-performance pursuit vehicles, including the Mitsubishi Evo X and Subaru Impreza
, to pursue and intercept mobile criminals.
The force comprises five territorial policing (TP) divisions; South West, South East, Central, Eastern and Western, but also has a number of specialist divisions including Stansted Airport, Mobile Support Division (encompassing firearms, dog
handling, air
and marine support
units), Crime Division and the Serious Organised Crime Division (SOCD).
Aside from territorial policing the force also has a number of specialist uniform units. The majority of these are part of the Mobile Support Division.
There are a number of primary service areas within the Mobile Support Division:
As a division within Essex Police, it deals with the specialist aspects of crime investigation, tending to focus on serious crime, but not exclusively and provides support to territorial divisions' efforts in investigating crime.
Crime Division has a command team structure of a divisional commander, supported by a director of intelligence, lead senior investigating officer, support manager and divisional administrative manager, based at the Chelmsford headquarters. This team is supported by section heads. The work of the various departments of Crime Division are both proactive and reactive.
In April 2000, the Major Investigation Team (MIT) was set up to investigate homicides, abductions, rapes and extortion. Each major investigation has a senior investigation officer (SIO), who is like the conductor of an orchestra, overseeing all the different parts of the investigations. The SIO works with a MIT and they are supported by the resources of Major Investigation Centralised Administrative Support (MICAS).
There are four MIT offices, at Harlow, Brentwood, Stanway and Rayleigh. The scale of enquiry determines the manpower required, the well-publicised case of the murdered schoolgirl Danielle Jones in June 2001 being a good example of the four offices 'pooling' resources and working as one team.
. The unit later took on the role of reporting to the Security Service (MI5
) and quickly became recognised as 'The Special Branch'.
Essex Special Branch was formed in 1970 when the Security Service required an input from all provincial police forces.
Special Branch (SB) deals with any matters which may involve any form of subversive activity, such as terrorism, which may affect either life or property nationally or internationally. The air and seaports are specific areas where SB officers operate to ensure that those involved in internal and/or external acts of terrorism are prevented from entering or leaving the country.
SB also maintains close contacts with other police services, both within the UK and abroad, to exchange information on persons who are known or believed to be involved in terrorist activity.
On the domestic front SB combat public disorder by dealing with those involved in extreme activity of any description. Special Branch workload has increased exponentially in the years following the September 11 attacks and 7 July 2005 London bombings
. Much of what SB does is highly sensitive, involving national security, and goes unnoticed by the general public.
SB officers are also tasked and trained in armed, close protection duties and work to protect royalty, VIPs and anyone else who could be under threat of attack or assassination, whilst in the Essex Police District.
The ECU has two distinct but overlapping functions. The first is the investigation of serious and complex fraud. Referrals to the ECU are from other agencies, such as the Department for Business
, Serious Fraud Office and Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. The ECU will also take on investigations referred to it by territorial divisions, subject to certain criteria having been met. The unit does not normally accept investigations directly from members of the public.
The second function is the confiscation and/or forfeiture of assets held by persons convicted of drug trafficking offences. With the arrival of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
and the government's determination to be more proactive in this area the scope of confiscation and/or forfeiture has increased to include criminal offences of an acquisitive nature.
and the use of computers in committing crimes. Offences may include harassment, theft, hacking, phone phreaking
(making telephone calls which are then charged to another person's bill) and child pornography.
Many of these are new crimes, which have only appeared since the widespread availability of computers and the Internet. The Hi-Tech Crime Unit is a relatively new addition to policing in Essex and forms part of a national network of agencies fighting against computer crime, headed by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit based in London Docklands.
Essex Police's Hi-Tech Crime Unit works closely with other network investigators and law enforcement agencies. Although it has been in existence only a short time, the unit has already seen significant results. Part of the work of the unit involves seizing computer-related evidence and using forensic methodology software. Officers have the ability to interrogate the seized computer, even when information has been deleted, and rebuild it to find out what was done and how. The unit also assists police officers in computer-related cases, particularly with conducting interviews or producing technical statements, and produces evidence for court.
The unit is staffed by internationally-trained computer specialists, who keep up-to-date with the latest changes in technology and software. They are also able to advise businesses of the danger of computer crime, particularly in e-commerce.
which is based on human rights legislation.
The Bureau oversees all applications from each of the territorial divisions. It is staffed by police officers and support staff. The police officers specialise in the area of surveillance authorities, including the more specialist applications which require authority from the Chief Constable. The support staff are based in the Telephone Enquiry Unit and undertake all enquiries made of the numerous telecom industry members. The staff are trained to a national standard and ensure that the enquiries requested are fully justified, correctly authorised and actioned, according to priorities.
The Bureau are inspected annually by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners, an independent body of serving or recently retired High Court judges who report direct to the Prime Minister
.
The work of the unit includes the vetting of persons who have applied to become foster parents or adoptive parents, registered childminders and managers of residential care homes and nursing homes.
After examination, all vehicles identified as stolen by the unit carry a 'Polexam' tamperproof marker. This is placed on a number of locations on the examined vehicle and a marker created on the Police National Computer
to indicate that it has been subject of a previous police examination.
The unit were responsible for the implementation of the "decoy vehicle" programme. They are also involved in vehicle crime analysis and attend warrants and briefings where vehicle crime is suspected or known.
Analysts bring together all the information so that they can look for areas where they need more information or focus on particular lines of enquiry.
The issue of how to protect the public from dangerous offenders has been vigorously debated since the early 1970s, when a highly publicised homicide case involving a released mental patient led to demands for stronger preventative measures.
The DOU works with the Multi-Agency Public Protection Panel (MAPPP), which co-ordinates intelligence and action to reduce the risk posed to the public by potentially dangerous offenders. MAPPP meetings are led by police, probation and social services, with input from other agencies such as housing and criminal justice mental health teams, depending on the case.
The DOU is also responsible for maintaining the Sex Offenders Register
, which came into force under the Sex Offenders Act 1997
. All convicted sex offenders must register their name and address with the police and inform them within 14 days if they move.
system. The witness then works with the officer to achieve the best 'likeness' of the offender.
lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty, and since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials to some of those officers.
The following officers of Essex Police are listed by the Trust as having died during the course of their duties:
Other emergency services:
Territorial police force
The phrase Territorial Police Force varies in precise meaning according to the country to which it is related, generally distinguishing a force whose area of responsibility is defined by sub-national boundaries from others which deal with the entire country or a restricted range of...
responsible for policing the county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
in the east of England.
It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s and operating across an area of over 1400 square miles (3,626 km²) and with a population of around 1.6 million people.
The Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
is Jim Barker-McCardle since September 2009.
Assistant Chief Constable for Media Relations Gary Beautridge is also simultaneously ACC for Area Operations for Kent Police
Kent Police
Kent Police is the territorial police force for Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway.-Area and organisation:The force covers an area of with an approximate population of 1,660,588 . The Chief Constable is currently Ian Learmonth, who was appointed in 2010 and is the former...
due to the two forces forming a joint Serious Crime Directorate.
History
Essex Constabulary was formed in 1840. In 1965, the force had an establishment of 1,862 officers.In 1969 it amalgamated with Southend-on-Sea Borough Police
Southend-on-Sea Borough Police
The Southend-on-Sea Borough Police is a police force that was established by the county borough of Southend-on-Sea in 1914. This force existed independently until 1969....
to form Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary, which was renamed as Essex Police in 1974.
Organisation
Essex Police is one of the United Kingdom's largest non-metropolitan police forces with a strength of approximately 3,600 police officerPolice officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s.
Its headquarters, the Force Information Room (where emergency calls are routed to) and Essex Police College, are all located in Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, within the Central Division.
Strategically, Essex is an important force. Bordering London, the force area consists of affluent city suburbs, large urban areas, industrial centres, rural villages, London Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport
-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
(one of the busiest international airports in the country) and two of the UK's major ports (Harwich
Harwich International Port
Harwich International Port is a North Sea seaport in Essex, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Stour one mile upstream from the town of Harwich, opposite Port of Felixstowe...
and Tilbury
Port of Tilbury
The Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London; as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also...
). The force also polices one of the largest expanses of coastline of any force in the UK. The police area
Police area
A police area is the area for which a territorial police force in the United Kingdom is responsible for policing.Every location in the United Kingdom has a designated territorial police force with statutory responsibility for providing policing services and enforcing criminal law, which is set out...
covers 1400 square miles (3,626 km²) and has a population of around 1,600,000.
The Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
is Jim Barker-McCardle, who replaced Roger Baker in September 2009.
The force has been a regular innovator and is often used by the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
to trial new procedures and equipment, including automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task...
(ANPR), Lantern (handheld wireless fingerprint verification) and the X26 Taser
TASER International
Taser International, Inc. is a developer, manufacturer, and distributor of the Taser less-lethal electroshock guns in the United States. It is based at Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Taser is the most common brand of electroshock gun.-History:...
.
Essex Police was also the subject of the television series Police Interceptors
Police Interceptors
Police Interceptors is a TV documentary series that profiles the work of a police ANPR Intercept Team in Essex, United Kingdom and in series 4 profiles the work of South Yorkshire Police's Road Crime Unit...
, which followed the work of the specialist Mobile Support Division's ANPR intercept unit that utilise high-performance pursuit vehicles, including the Mitsubishi Evo X and Subaru Impreza
Subaru Impreza
Introduced in November 1993, the Impreza was offered in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive versions and as a four-door sedan/saloon or five-door station wagon/estate. According to a Motor Trend article written March 1992 on page 26, the name of Subaru's new compact was, initially, to be...
, to pursue and intercept mobile criminals.
The force comprises five territorial policing (TP) divisions; South West, South East, Central, Eastern and Western, but also has a number of specialist divisions including Stansted Airport, Mobile Support Division (encompassing firearms, dog
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
handling, air
Police aircraft
A police aircraft is an airplane, helicopter, powered paraglider, or blimpused in police operations. They are commonly used for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and riot control...
and marine support
Water police
Water police, also called harbour patrols, port police, marine/maritime police, nautical patrols, bay constables or river police, are police officers, usually a department of a larger police organisation, who patrol in water craft...
units), Crime Division and the Serious Organised Crime Division (SOCD).
Aside from territorial policing the force also has a number of specialist uniform units. The majority of these are part of the Mobile Support Division.
Mobile Support Division
The Mobile Support Division has a command team structure of a chief superintendent supported by four chief inspectors, a divisional administration manager, and a senior traffic management officer, all based at headquarters. The command team is supported by unit inspectors who in turn provide management of the divisional resources.There are a number of primary service areas within the Mobile Support Division:
- Road Policing Unit: Encompasses the provision of qualified traffic patrols, specialist traffic support services, traffic management and camera enforcement.
- Force Support Unit: Provides a support capability in respect of firearms, public order, building entry and covert operations.
- Air Support Unit: Provides command and control, containment, searching, pursuit, conveyance and aerial photography.
- Marine Support Unit: Provides marine, crime prevention and detection capability. Partners with other marine-based organisations to effectively deal with water safety, nuisance and rescue issues. This unit also provides underwater search and recovery specialism.
- General Police Dog Patrols and Specialist Dog Services: Dog training and resource management of specialist dog provision, including explosives, tactical firearms, tracking ('endeavour') and drugs search capabilities.
Crime Division
Crime Division works across the territorial divisions of Essex and with forces nationwide, providing resources and expertise.As a division within Essex Police, it deals with the specialist aspects of crime investigation, tending to focus on serious crime, but not exclusively and provides support to territorial divisions' efforts in investigating crime.
Crime Division has a command team structure of a divisional commander, supported by a director of intelligence, lead senior investigating officer, support manager and divisional administrative manager, based at the Chelmsford headquarters. This team is supported by section heads. The work of the various departments of Crime Division are both proactive and reactive.
Major Investigation Team
The way in which major crimes are investigated has changed over time. 30 years ago, the head of Crime Division would have carried out every part of the investigation in a murder case himself, including interviewing key witnesses. However, this has now been transformed with the advent of computerised Major Investigation Rooms and concerns over handling complex, high profile enquiries like the Stephen Lawrence case.In April 2000, the Major Investigation Team (MIT) was set up to investigate homicides, abductions, rapes and extortion. Each major investigation has a senior investigation officer (SIO), who is like the conductor of an orchestra, overseeing all the different parts of the investigations. The SIO works with a MIT and they are supported by the resources of Major Investigation Centralised Administrative Support (MICAS).
There are four MIT offices, at Harlow, Brentwood, Stanway and Rayleigh. The scale of enquiry determines the manpower required, the well-publicised case of the murdered schoolgirl Danielle Jones in June 2001 being a good example of the four offices 'pooling' resources and working as one team.
Special Branch
The Special Irish Branch was formed in 1883 by the Metropolitan Police, to deal with Irish Republican activists in London. This extremely secret unit consisted of a handful of detectives whose offices were located in a wooden hut on an island within Green Park, just behind the old Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
. The unit later took on the role of reporting to the Security Service (MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
) and quickly became recognised as 'The Special Branch'.
Essex Special Branch was formed in 1970 when the Security Service required an input from all provincial police forces.
Special Branch (SB) deals with any matters which may involve any form of subversive activity, such as terrorism, which may affect either life or property nationally or internationally. The air and seaports are specific areas where SB officers operate to ensure that those involved in internal and/or external acts of terrorism are prevented from entering or leaving the country.
SB also maintains close contacts with other police services, both within the UK and abroad, to exchange information on persons who are known or believed to be involved in terrorist activity.
On the domestic front SB combat public disorder by dealing with those involved in extreme activity of any description. Special Branch workload has increased exponentially in the years following the September 11 attacks and 7 July 2005 London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
. Much of what SB does is highly sensitive, involving national security, and goes unnoticed by the general public.
SB officers are also tasked and trained in armed, close protection duties and work to protect royalty, VIPs and anyone else who could be under threat of attack or assassination, whilst in the Essex Police District.
Serious Organised Crime Division
The Serious Organised Crime Division (SOCD) consists of a team of highly experienced detectives who are involved in investigating serious and organised crime inside and outside of the Essex police area. The work of the SOCD is centrally coordinated to prioritise crimes and locations that will have most effect on the overall performance of the force. The unit also utilise mobile surveillance teams. Day to day business for the SOCD includes investigations into serial crimes, such as burglary, car crime and robbery, where criminals cross multiple borders to commit crime.Economic Crime Unit
The Economic Crime Unit (ECU) is part of SOCD and is based at Brentwood. The ECU is made up of detective officers and accredited civilian financial investigators, whose work is overseen by a detective inspector.The ECU has two distinct but overlapping functions. The first is the investigation of serious and complex fraud. Referrals to the ECU are from other agencies, such as the Department for Business
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform .-Ministers:The BIS...
, Serious Fraud Office and Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. The ECU will also take on investigations referred to it by territorial divisions, subject to certain criteria having been met. The unit does not normally accept investigations directly from members of the public.
The second function is the confiscation and/or forfeiture of assets held by persons convicted of drug trafficking offences. With the arrival of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides for the confiscation or civil recovery of the proceeds from crime and contains the principal money laundering legislation in the UK.-Background:...
and the government's determination to be more proactive in this area the scope of confiscation and/or forfeiture has increased to include criminal offences of an acquisitive nature.
Hi-Tech Crime Unit
The Hi-Tech Crime Unit deals with computer crimeComputer crime
Computer crime, or cybercrime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Netcrime refers to criminal exploitation of the Internet. Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial health...
and the use of computers in committing crimes. Offences may include harassment, theft, hacking, phone phreaking
Phreaking
Phreaking is a slang term coined to describe the activity of a culture of people who study, experiment with, or explore telecommunication systems, such as equipment and systems connected to public telephone networks. As telephone networks have become computerized, phreaking has become closely...
(making telephone calls which are then charged to another person's bill) and child pornography.
Many of these are new crimes, which have only appeared since the widespread availability of computers and the Internet. The Hi-Tech Crime Unit is a relatively new addition to policing in Essex and forms part of a national network of agencies fighting against computer crime, headed by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit based in London Docklands.
Essex Police's Hi-Tech Crime Unit works closely with other network investigators and law enforcement agencies. Although it has been in existence only a short time, the unit has already seen significant results. Part of the work of the unit involves seizing computer-related evidence and using forensic methodology software. Officers have the ability to interrogate the seized computer, even when information has been deleted, and rebuild it to find out what was done and how. The unit also assists police officers in computer-related cases, particularly with conducting interviews or producing technical statements, and produces evidence for court.
The unit is staffed by internationally-trained computer specialists, who keep up-to-date with the latest changes in technology and software. They are also able to advise businesses of the danger of computer crime, particularly in e-commerce.
Authorities Bureau
The Authorities Bureau was established to oversee all covert policing authorisations. When Essex Police wish to set up surveillance on a suspect, they must make an application to the Authorities Bureau, who decide whether the surveillance is justified and complies with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications...
which is based on human rights legislation.
The Bureau oversees all applications from each of the territorial divisions. It is staffed by police officers and support staff. The police officers specialise in the area of surveillance authorities, including the more specialist applications which require authority from the Chief Constable. The support staff are based in the Telephone Enquiry Unit and undertake all enquiries made of the numerous telecom industry members. The staff are trained to a national standard and ensure that the enquiries requested are fully justified, correctly authorised and actioned, according to priorities.
The Bureau are inspected annually by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners, an independent body of serving or recently retired High Court judges who report direct to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
.
Vetting Unit
The Vetting Unit is responsible for running checks on individuals who regularly have substantial unsupervised access to children up to the age of 16, or 18 if they have special needs or are looked after by a local authority. The information they gather is disclosed to authorised outside agencies and other police services.The work of the unit includes the vetting of persons who have applied to become foster parents or adoptive parents, registered childminders and managers of residential care homes and nursing homes.
Force Intelligence Bureau
The role of the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) is to assist criminal investigation across the county by bringing together local intelligence from different divisions and out of the police area. The FIB collects information on dangerous sex offenders and those criminals whose activities span more than one area of Essex or across counties. They also analyse trends and links between crimes, so that they can use the right people and the right methods in the right places to prevent crime.Stolen Vehicle Section
The Stolen Vehicle Section of the Force Intelligence Bureau was formed around 1964 to lend assistance and support to police officers in dealing with motor vehicle crime. One of the main functions of the section is the examination and identification of suspect vehicles, plant and other equipment, both by thermal and chemical etching of erased and hidden serial and identification numbers.After examination, all vehicles identified as stolen by the unit carry a 'Polexam' tamperproof marker. This is placed on a number of locations on the examined vehicle and a marker created on the Police National Computer
Police National Computer
The Police National Computer is a computer system used extensively by law enforcement organisations across the United Kingdom. It went live in 1974 and now consists of several databases available 24 hours a day, giving access to information of national and local significance.From October 2009, the...
to indicate that it has been subject of a previous police examination.
The unit were responsible for the implementation of the "decoy vehicle" programme. They are also involved in vehicle crime analysis and attend warrants and briefings where vehicle crime is suspected or known.
Field Intelligence Officers
Area desk Field Intelligence Officers (FIO) are assigned to particular areas of Essex or to liaison with Customs and with other divisions of Essex Police, such as the Drugs and Serious Crime Squad. FIOs are responsible for gathering intelligence on crimes committed in several areas or across area boundaries, so that patterns in these crimes can be analysed.Criminal Intelligence Analysts
The role of the Criminal Intelligence Analyst is to use all the available information on criminal activity in Essex to assess trends which can be seen now and predict what might happen in the future. The results of this analysis are then passed on to those responsible for making decisions about allocating resources.Analysts bring together all the information so that they can look for areas where they need more information or focus on particular lines of enquiry.
Dangerous Offenders Unit
The main function of the Dangerous Offenders Unit (DOU) is to manage the threat posed by sex offenders and other potentially dangerous and violent criminals. 'Dangerous offenders' are those people "likely to inflict serious physical or psychological harm on others".The issue of how to protect the public from dangerous offenders has been vigorously debated since the early 1970s, when a highly publicised homicide case involving a released mental patient led to demands for stronger preventative measures.
The DOU works with the Multi-Agency Public Protection Panel (MAPPP), which co-ordinates intelligence and action to reduce the risk posed to the public by potentially dangerous offenders. MAPPP meetings are led by police, probation and social services, with input from other agencies such as housing and criminal justice mental health teams, depending on the case.
The DOU is also responsible for maintaining the Sex Offenders Register
Sex offender registration
Sex offender registration is a system in various states designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions , information in the registry is made available to the...
, which came into force under the Sex Offenders Act 1997
Sex Offenders Act 1997
The Sex Offenders Act 1997 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which made various sex offenders subject to notification requirements, thereby implementing a sex offenders registry. It also gave courts in the UK extraterritorial jurisdiction...
. All convicted sex offenders must register their name and address with the police and inform them within 14 days if they move.
Facial Identification Officer
The trauma that a stranger may inflict during a serious offence may influence the victim's memory of the suspect's identity. This is when the Facial Identification Officer can assist by using a portable computerised feature and paint package programme in order to put together a 'composite' of the offender. Being portable, it enables the officer to travel to the victim's home or their hospital bed. They will interview the witness or victim using 'cognitive' interview which assists the witness to 'relive' rather than 'remember'. Having ascertained a general description of the offender this is then entered into the E-FITE-FIT
Electronic Facial Identification Technique is a computer-based method that produce facial composites of wanted criminals based on eyewitness descriptions. Janina Kaminska at the UK Home Office proposed the term in 1984...
system. The witness then works with the officer to achieve the best 'likeness' of the offender.
Prison Liaison Section
The Prison Liaison Section provides an interface between the police force and the prison service. They give help and advice to both agencies on obtaining information and intelligence with regard to persons in prison custody.Officers killed in the line of duty
The Police Memorial TrustPolice Memorial Trust
The Police Memorial Trust is a charitable organisation founded in 1984 and based in London. The trust's objective is to erect memorials to British police officers killed in the line of duty, at or near the spot where they died, thereby acting as a permanent reminder to the public of the sacrifice...
lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty, and since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials to some of those officers.
The following officers of Essex Police are listed by the Trust as having died during the course of their duties:
- Constable Gary John Veal, 2002
- Constable Roderick Norton Daniels, 2001
- Constable Christopher John Wiggins, 1992
- Acting Sergeant Brian John Bishop, 1984
- Constable Peter James Wringe, 1982
- Constable Brian Arthur Rippingale, 1968
- Sergeant Edmund Sleigh Frost, 1948
- Constable George William Gutteridge, 1927
- Constable Joseph Watt, 1913
- Acting Sergeant Adam John Eves, 1893
- Inspector Thomas Simmons, 1885
- Constable Robert Bamborough, 1850
- Head Constable William Campling, 1849
See also
- Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
- List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom
- Table of police forces in the United KingdomTable of police forces in the United KingdomThis table of police forces in the United Kingdom includes territorial police forces and special police forces. It does not include non-police law enforcement agencies or bodies of constables not constituted as police forces.-Table:-England and Wales:...
Other emergency services:
- East of England Ambulance ServiceEast of England Ambulance ServiceThe East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the authority responsible for providing National Health Service ambulance services in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, in the East of England region.It is one of 12 Ambulance Trusts providing...
- Essex Air AmbulanceEssex Air AmbulanceEssex Air Ambulance is an air ambulance service serving the county of Essex and surrounding areas, in the east of England. It is one of twenty-five air ambulance services in the United Kingdom....
- Essex County Fire and Rescue ServiceEssex County Fire and Rescue ServiceEssex County Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Essex in the east of England, and is one of the largest fire services in the country, covering an area of almost 400,000 hectares and a population of over 1.7 million people.The service attends an...