By Harlow Community Policing Team
Insp Tony Walker

THE Community Policing Team executed a drugs warrant at Ladyshot whereby a total of 253 cannabis plants were seized and destroyed. Drug use and supply is linked to many other crimes in Harlow including violence, anti-social behaviour & exploitation it can have a significant impact on the quality of life for many people and we will continue to act upon information supplied to us.

A male causing persistent problems in the Town Centre was also arrested for several public order offences one of which was racially aggravated, he was also in breach of a Community Protection Notice which had been issued by the Town Centre Policing Team, he was charged and presented to the magistrates court the following day. The local Community continue to tell us that anti-social behaviour is an issue in the Town Centre, and we are working hard to tackle this and make it a safer place for all.

Thanks to the eagle eyes of a member of the public police were alerted to a male acting suspiciously in the Harvey Centre car park, he was arrested and as a result of some great work by CID officers & the Council Community Safety Team he was charged with a total of 8 offences including attempted burglary and theft. He was placed before the court the following day and was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison, another person who will not be committing crime in Harlow for a while.

There has been an increase in the theft of tools and electrical equipment from unattended cars and vans, additional officers have been patrolling hotspot area’s and in February officers from Harlow where involved in a large scale operation involving other police forces, warrants were executed looking for stolen vehicles and other equipment used to commit crime, a number of arrests were made with several stolen vehicles recovered, aside from this operation last month 9 arrests were made for theft of motor vehicle and 4 arrests for theft from motor vehicle.

Where possible please remove valuable items from your car or van when left unattended, tools, dashcams and sat navs are items that are most frequently being stolen. If you have a garage or lock up facility please secure your vehicle overnight, if parked in the street try and make sure it is in a well-lit area with doors to vans parked close against walls making access more difficult, activate vehicle alarms. Please also security mark your property as it can often be difficult returning stolen goods to owners. Any information regarding those responsible for vehicle crime can be passed anonymously via crime stoppers. Please do call police if you see any suspicious activity in or around vehicles. Further crime prevention advice can be found at www.essex.police.uk

The Community Policing team have also been out and about at our regular street meets at the shopping hatches and at Coffee with cops at Staple Tye and a new venue – The Playhouse in the Town Centre. These informal meetings are great opportunity for you to meet with local officers to discuss any concerns you may have or to ask any questions, the dates and times are advertised on our social media sites on Facebook & Twitter.

You can contact the community Policing team by calling 101 or emailing [email protected]