In the past week alone, I have been made aware of two local burglaries at houses in Lincolnsfield and Coopersale Common. Both incidents took place during busy daylight hours and involved the burglars smashing a window and reaching around to open a locked door with the key still in it.
In Lincolnsfield, two laptops, cash, and jewellery were stolen, whilst in Coopersale a Canon digital camera, gent's Cartier watch and lady's Rolex watch described as oyster silver and white gold were all stolen. Anyone with information on these incidents can contact Epping Police Station on 0300 333 4444 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
This weekend, I have had a discussion with the District Commander of Policing, Chief Inspector Alan Ray, specifically around dwelling burglaries in Epping Forest, which has been an issue effecting a large number of local residents for many years.
On this issue there is generally good news. Our district has seen a 9% reduction in dwelling burglaries in the past year, which bucks the nation and local trend; Harlow is up 38%, Brentwood is up 30% and Havering is up 25%. During the same period, we have seen an increase of 23% in attempted burglaries, meaning that residents have been a great deal more on the ball in reporting concerns before a crime is actually committed.
That said, the western policing division, which incorporates Epping Forest, Harlow and Brentwood remains the worst in Essex for dwelling burglaries, so the important cross-border work must continue.
One way residents can help drive down these figures is by ensuring their doors are actually locked! It sounds simple, but an enormous amount of burglaries in this area are committed when people think their UPVC doors are locked when it is merely shut. Let’s remain alert and continue to report questionable circumstances or people in our communities.
To discuss any specific concerns you have relating to criminal activity in Epping, please contact PC Gary Harrington at Epping Police Station on 0300 333 4444 or on 07779 317211. Alternatively you can email him here.
Many local residents have raised concerns tonight about a middle-aged man who is walking the streets of Epping claiming to have been mugged and requiring some money to call for help or catch the bus home. The gentleman has both stopped people in Epping High Street and also knocked on residential properties scattered throughout the town to ask for help and many people have assisted by giving £1 or so before sending him happily on his way.
This man is well-known to local police and is not known to be violent. He is a local alcoholic and regularly drinks as much as he can afford before going out in search for a couple of pounds to buy another pint!
Advice from Essex Police is to refuse to give him any money and he will be on his way. You should however, take a note of his appearance, such as hair and eye colour, height, what he is wearing, what direction he has gone in and what time you saw him before calling the Neighbourhood Policing Team on 07779 317211. If the issue becomes more serious, please dial 999 immediately. By calling the police, you are helping to build evidence against this man who is a nuisance and whom we hope to bring an anti-social behaviour order again in due course.
Essex Police have launched a new operation to clamp down on drunken behaviour and violence at weekends.
‘Operation Teutonic’ will see a significant increase in police officer patrols on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the summer to reduce alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour and violence in the Epping Forest District.
The operation has already had some success with confiscations of a large quantities of alcohol from under-18s at Stonards Hill in Epping. This operation will clearly demonstrate a “no-nonsense” approach to individuals who disrupt the lives of others through nuisance behaviour in our community. For more information, click here.
In the past week alone, I have been made aware of two local burglaries at houses in Lincolnsfield and Coopersale Common. Both incidents took place during busy daylight hours and involved the burglars smashing a window and reaching around to open a locked door with the key still in it.
