A share of £700,000 seized from criminals in Essex in the last two years helped to find a young boy who went missing in Witham.
Essex Police receives a proportion of the cash its officers seize under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), which is then invested in equipment and crime fighting initiatives.
Essex Search and Rescue, a voluntary organisation that provides valuable assistance to Essex Police in the search for high risk, vulnerable missing people, was given £5,000 earlier this year towards its running costs.
The organisation attended its 500th call-out on July 13 when its volunteers assisted police in the search for a missing boy in Witham.
Happily he was found the same day.
The charity has 41 volunteers who respond to call-outs at any time of the day or night, every day of the year.
Chairman Stephen Nicholas said: "The funding from the POCA Board is absolutely invaluable towards helping us run our control vehicle and equipment, which we use when we attend call-outs.”
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