Update from Essex Police (Marine Unit)

Dear Marine Stakeholders,

I am sure you will agree it has been an interesting year so far, from COVID to the subsequent significant increase in river users throughout the county. The purpose of this email to you all is to give you a brief overview and update on our activities as a Marine Unit for the past 3 months.

We hope most of you will have seen more of our officers out and about either on the shore or out on water throughout the last 3 months. We have been endeavouring to re-focus our efforts towards our community engagement and whilst it is still a work in progress, we have achieved a number of success’ so far, which are highlighted below. We have given each area of the county a dedicated officer to focus on the marine issues in your particular area, if you are not aware of them already, they are as follows;

PC1390 Daren Chambers -Rivers Blackwater & Colne : 1390@essex.police.uk

PC72598 John Perry -River Stour/Harwich & Clacton Northwards : 72598@essex.police.uk

We also have a generic email account which all of our officers check when they come on duty, to ensure we deal with as many enquiries as possible as soon as possible ; marineu@essex.police.uk. I hope you will make use of these officers and keep them informed of issues in your area.

In an emergency please still use 999 for immediate assistance.

Rivers Blackwater & Colne

Since the end of Covid lockdown there has been a large increase in anti-social behaviour on the water (mostly, but not exclusively by PWCs). This is happening on all stretches of the Blackwater and Colne, with particular problem areas around launch sites (Point Clear, West Mersea, Wivenhoe approaches, St Lawrence, Heybridge Basin and Maldon). Policing this behaviour is challenging, however a number of prosecutions are in progress in collaboration with local councils. We have identified 11 offenders from photographs and videos sent to us and have dealt positively with the people concerned. New powers have also recently enabled us to issue community penalty warnings and community penalty notices to a number of people exceeding the 8 knot speed limits. We encourage anyone with photographic evidence of water based Anti-Social Behaviour to make contact with us. Over this period we have increased our patrols and our visible presence in these hotspot areas with operations most weekends and during the identified busy periods. We are also currently working with the local council on long term solutions to the ongoing problems and liaising with the Maldon River Bailiff on particular areas of concern.
We are working closely with the owners of private slipways to encourage them to implement vessel registration schemes. This will assist us in identifying the owners of vessels acting in an antisocial manner.
St Lawrence saw an increase of visitors with PWCs which caused a huge upsurge in complaints about water based Anti-Social Behaviour. It also caused parking issues on Main Road and the slipway into the Blackwater and the parking issues prevented emergency services accessing the road. A temporary closure of the slipway has been implemented with a review planned in the winter.
We have received 1 report of a shellfish picking gang operating near to St Lawrence. Often these gangs are run by organised criminal groups exploiting victims of modern slavery. The collected shellfish make their way in to the food chain without any of the checks necessary to confirm it is safe for human consumption. We would encourage you to report We are working hard to protect the Essex Marine Community and are closely monitoring the increase in Anti-social behaviour. We would encourage anyone to report any further issues to us as and when these occur. We also have a number of plans for the forthcoming year, these include;
(i)A Public Space Protection Order for the river Colne, Brightlingsea and around Mersea.
(ii) A Water Awareness Scheme, (which will operate very similar to a driver improvement scheme) as an alternative to prosecution and an educational tool for water safety.
(iii) A fully refurbished Rigid Hull Inflatable boat for fast patrol
(iv) Continuing joint patrols in Hotspot areas and Antic Social Behaviour.
(v) A new community engagement strategy to encompass all marine stakeholders in the marine community (including PWC users) to improve awareness of marine safety, rules & regulations and keep stakeholders up to date with current and past Police efforts & initiatives.
(vi) An extension of our PWC registration system which we currently operate on the river Thames to great effect.
(vii) Further liaison with local Councils and local Community Policing Teams as well as key stakeholders on the river.
(viii) A joint agreement with Border Force to share vessels to give us access to an increased fleet of vessels.
We hope you will have found this update to be of use, it is our intention to repeat these on a 3 monthly basis. Please be assured we will work hard to provide the best possible service to you as our stakeholders and would welcome any feedback you may have.
Best Regards
APS 2858 Paul RAWSON
Essex Police Marine Unit any sightings.