Prevention work to help protect women and girls
The People, Partnerships and Prevention Conference, focussed on some of the most harmful and impactful crimes affecting society and asked what more could be done together to bring about prevention and early intervention.
Project Minerva, the collaborative approach to protecting females in Essex is run by partners from Nottingham Trent University, Essex Police, Essex County Council and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
The project maps out every hotspot road in the county where women are at increased risk of violence. Allowing partners to come together to create bespoke plans to tackle violence against women and girls in these locations.
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Celebrating Community Speed Watch Volunteers
On Wednesday the 1st June, partners gathered together at Kelvedon Park to celebrate the hard work of the Community Speed Watch Group Co-ordinators, a fitting way to launch Volunteers' Week.
Jane Gardner, Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner was at the event, she said: “In Essex we are lucky to have so many selfless people, volunteering their time to keep us safe. I would like to say big thank you to the Community Speed Watch Group Co-ordinators for the continued work they do in creating safer roads in our communities.
“We all know that more people die on our roads in Essex than in any other kind of accident or crime, so improving safety on our roads is vital. The Community Speed Watch volunteers are a tremendous asset to our local communities, helping reduce anti-social behaviour and the number of injuries from road traffic collisions. You really do make a difference in Essex and help to keep people safe.”
If you are interested in forming or joining a Community Speed Watch group, find out more via the website.
Become an Independent Custody Visitor!
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner is looking to recruit more volunteers to make a contribution to policing by joining this important scheme which sees members of the public check on the welfare and wellbeing of people detained in police custody.
Independent Custody Visitors or ICVs have an independent role, checking that people held in police cells and who are not yet convicted of any offence, are being properly treated.
If you are compassionate and community-spirited, we want to hear from you!
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Volunteers' Week - recognising the great work PFCC volunteers do
Volunteers play a significant role in keeping our communities safe, working with Essex Police and the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and supporting projects run directly out of the Commissioner’s office, such as the Restorative and Mediation Service, Independent Custody Visiting and the Dog Welfare Scheme.
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner said: “Volunteers’ Week is a great way to recognise the commitment and dedication that our volunteers give to support our communities. They make a huge difference, and on behalf of myself and the people of Essex I want to say a big thank you to you all! Without your selflessness and kindness, we wouldn’t be able to reach and support the amount of people that we do.”
If you are interested in volunteering for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner visit our website.
Look back at our People, Partnerships and Prevention Conference
Our People, Partnerships and Prevention Conference focussed on some of the most harmful and impactful crimes affecting society and asked what more could be done together to bring about prevention and early intervention.
Find out more about what are speakers said on the day.
Exploited Into Essex Conference
Every year people arrive in our county and find themselves exploited by organised crime groups. They are exploited in businesses, families and in our community. While some are found, some travel through our county without leaving a trace. For others, like the 39 Vietnamese, Essex is where they lose their lives to this tragic form of crime.
To raise awareness of this exploitation and what we can all do to tackle Human Trafficking, Organised Immigration Crime and Modern-Day Slavery, Essex Police and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, supported by the Essex Chambers of Commerce are organising a conference ‘Exploited into Essex’ on July the 1st 2022 at Tilbury Cruise Terminal.
The conference will highlight the great work that is already being done, the challenges we all face, and what we can do together to build our resilience against these forms of crime and stop the exploitation in our county.
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Listening to our communities - Tendring Public Meeting
On Tuesday the 14th of June, Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, along with fellow panel members from Essex Police, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, Tendring Council and Tendring Community Safety Partnership, came together to listen to the concerns on community safety from residents of Tendring.
With only a few seats remaining, it was a great turn out from the community. Audience members raised questions around important issues such as speeding, inconsiderate driving, anti-social behaviour, theft and violence against women and children. It was a good opportunity to see that while a lot of important work was already being done, there was still more to do around speeding, e-scooter education and responding to burglaries.
We also received questions ahead of the meeting from residents who were unable to attend and these will be addressed in the minutes from the meeting which will be available on the PFCC website shortly on our Public Meetings page.
We would like to thank all of the attendees and our panel members T/Ch/Insp Rob Bell, Tendring District Commander, Ian Davidson, Chief Executive Tendring DC, Cllr Lynda McWilliams, Chair of Tendring Community Safety Partnership, Quentin Sage, Clacton Station Manager, ECFRS, and Howard Midwood, Station Manager for Manningtree, Brightlingsea, Wivenhoe and West Mersea ECFRS for their contributions on the night.
Tackling speeding in Little Burstead
The village of Little Burstead has seen huge improvements in the reduction of speeding, after the instalment of gateways on entry to the village. The gateways are accompanied by a speed limit sign with a reminder for people to 'drive slowly through the village'.
This was as a result of residence raising awareness and working with the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to secure the funding.
Stephanie Robinson, parish council clerk, said: “The parish council are very pleased with the gateways. A speed survey conducted in November indicated that most drivers were complying with the speed limit, so it would seem they are helping to reduce speeding in the parish.”
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Staying Safe this Summer
Essex has seen some terrible fires recently, one in particular in Harwich which destroyed a popular local pub and spread to two other buildings. Roger Hirst visited the scene and thanked all of the firefighters for their hard and for continuing to keep Essex safe.
With summer officially here and temperatures continuing to rise, it becomes easier for fires to spread due to the drier conditions.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service have published some useful information on how to stay safe this summer and prevent a fire from happening.
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Working with our communities - Harlow Public Meeting
On Tuesday the 21st of June, Jane Gardner, Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner along with fellow panel members from Essex Police, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and Harlow Council came together to listen to the concerns on community safety from residents in Harlow.
Audience members raised important issues around activities on Fernhill Lane, e-scooter safety in the town, anti-social behaviour in residential areas, off-road bikes and drugs. These meetings are a great way to connect with the community and provide residents with the chance to ask questions about what is happening in their area. Most importantly, this was a good opportunity to see that while a lot of important work has already been done, there is still more to do.
We would like to thank all of our attendees and our panels members, Ch/Insp Paul Austin Harlow District Commander, Essex Police, Terry Povey North West Manager, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and Cllr Joel Charles, Harlow Council for their contributions on the night.
Essex Police Confirmation Ceremony
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner joined our police officers this week at a Confirmation Ceremony at Braxted Park. Due to the COVID pandemic, these officers could not have an official Passing Out parade, however it was great to see their family and friends coming together to celebrate their achievements after two years of protecting and serving the people of Essex.
Essex Police is going to become the biggest it has ever been, with 900 officers set to join the force by March 2023. Nationally, the Government is also on track to meet its pledge to recruit an extra 20,000 by March 2023, with 68% of the target already met. There are so many different opportunities in the force, if you are considering a career in policing please click the button below.
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Creating A More Accessible Police Force
Essex Police have become part of the 999 British Sign Language service, making it possible for deaf people to use sign language to report a crime online.
The service lets deaf people use BSL through an app or website with an interpreter who will relay the conversation to an operator. This initiative is welcomed by Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex who is committed to help improve the accessibility of Essex Police.
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Talk to your Commissioner
There are a number of online events taking place soon where you can put your questions to Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex. They are listed below and you can find out more details on our Facebook page or via our events section on our website
Southend PFCC Public Meeting - 11th July 2022 @ 7pm - Southend Council Offices, Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue SOS
Thurrock PFCC Public Meeting - 21st July 2022 @ 7pm - TBC
Uttlesford PFCC Public Meeting - 12th September 2022 @ 7pm - TBC
PFCC Events