• A message from Inspector Cathy Calder, Castle Point and Rochford Community Policing Team:

Dear residents of Castle Point,

The recent spike in theft from motor vehicles has caused the community and your local policing teams some serious concerns.

As part of this community I am very troubled that we have suspects committing this level of crime on our patch. It is clear from the CCTV footage we have received, and the types of items being stolen that the suspects are opportunists and as such taking advantage of the fact that where we live is a low crime area.

To address this increase in vehicle crime we have created an operation, ‘Op Weaver’ and I can assure you that we have allocated the necessary resources to try and stop the crimes being committed and bring the offenders to justice.

It is extremely important that all crimes are reported so that we can get a good idea of where the offences are being committed. We have Community Policing and Local Policing Teams patrolling during the night using marked and unmarked vehicles as well as utilising other tactics that we cannot go into for operational reasons.

What is also very clear from the reports so far received, that other than a laptop, no other ‘identifiable’ property has yet been stolen. We understand that in this most recent spate of vehicle crimes it has mainly been loose change, small items of jewellery with the occasional bag or wallet being taken.

Many of the reports we have received suggest that vehicles are being left unlocked, and from the CCTV footage we have received shows the suspects trying doors and where unlocked gaining access to steal literally anything they can get their hands on. We are reminding everyone to double check that their vehicles are locked and secured before retiring to bed or leaving the vehicle for any period of time.

If you have any identifiable property, you can record this for free on www.immobilise.com. Our team are working with the Community Safety Partnership to obtain property marking kits that we will be able to distribute at one of our Covid-compliant PCSO events in the very near future .

Unfortunately, so far, there have been no forensic opportunities made available to us. CCTV footage has not yet yielded us with any facial identification due to the offenders wearing masks and hoods. If you have CCTV images and have not yet sent them to us our email address is castlepointandrochfordCPT@essex.police.uk.

Invariably someone knows who is committing these crimes or has some knowledge. All information is treated in the strictest confidence, if you have any information please call us on 101, report online via our website or use the livechat service. You can also report completely anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting their website, www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

I will continue to ensure that the you, the community that we serve, are kept up to date regarding how we are addressing this issue through social media and our patrols, and want to assure you that we are taking it very seriously. We will also continue to publish crime prevention advice to remind everyone to assist us with this work.

Thank you for your continued support in keeping our community safe.

Inspector Cathy Calder Castle Point and Rochford Community Policing Team