December is a busy month for most people and it has been no exception for the team.

December has seen Operation Christmas presence in Lakeside, with PCSO Kelly Roberts taking the lead with high visibility reassurance patrols.

December 1 saw Thurrock CPT and Immigration work in partnership on Operation Ice in South Ockendon, targeting modern-day slavery.

December 2 had another joint agency operation between Thurrock CPT and Thurrock Council trading standards. We visited Grays High Street and seized tobacco and cigarettes being sold illegally.

Tilbury had its Christmas lights switched on on December 2, with our officers and members of Thurrock Council joining in the festivities.

On December 3 the team worked alongside Thurrock Council’s licensing department on Operation Lynx, carrying out surprise visits to nine pubs. We successfully seized quantities class A and C drugs.

We continued Operation Sacrifice on several days in December, with PS Nick Hampson securing an arrest on December 4, where a man admitted causing criminal damage to private land in South Ockendon and the quad bike he was riding was seized by PC Neil Brand.

Operation Wagtail patrols were completed on various dates in December with officers patrolling the roads included in the Designated Public Protection Order (DPPO) surrounding Lakeside.

On December 21, Thurrock Community policing team and Thurrock Council housing team joined resources to launch Operation Byron, visiting HMO (houses of multiple-occupancy) addresses across Thurrock, speaking to tenants and ensuring that homes met health and safety requirements, with police searching for signs of criminality and modern-day slavery. While on this operation, PC Paul Glensman noticed a stolen motorbike being driven in Ockendon, and when the ridr decamped he quickly caught and arrested the male for theft and possession of drugs.

PC Martin Hatfield was off duty on December 28 when he detained and arrested a shoplifter in Ockendon, and still managed to purchase the pint of milk he went in for!

Also on December 28 PC’s Rob Watts and Paul Glensman were on Operation Culture in Grays when they arrested a male for being drunk and disorderly following a report that he was urinating on the window of a local newsagents.

Several patrols were completed throughout the month in Stanford-le-Hope under Operation Apache, with 24 stop-searches completed - two males were taken home to parents with homemade catapults, alcohol was seized and advice given to four females who were placing themselves at risk.

Follow us!

Twitter: @ThurrockCPT

Facebook: Essex Police – Thurrock

Website: essex.police.uk