Women Escaping a Life of Domestic Abuse
Abberton Rural Training works with domestic abuse charity Next Chapter to support those living in the Women’s Refuge in Colchester or women in north and mid Essex recovering from domestic abuse.
The mission is to aid recovery by giving women access to rustic recovery activities, enabling them to be more active outdoors, to learn new skills, to learn about healthy eating, and to improve their physical and mental health.
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex contributed £21,463.60 to Abberton Rural Training in the form of a crime and disorder reduction grant from the 2020-2021 Community Safety Development Fund to roll out the Rustic Recovery Programme. The work helps the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst, deliver against their priority of supporting the victims of domestic abuse and reducing vulnerability.
Read about Vicky* and how the project has helped turn her life around.
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New Look Knife Bins and Knife Amnesty Launched
Knife bins across the county have received a new look following a competition which invited young people to design a positive anti-knife poster to help raise awareness of the dangers of carrying a knife.
Essex Police, the Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex and the Ben Kinsella Trust teamed up for the competition and on Tuesday May 10th, PFCC Roger Hirst met one of the winners, Dexter, in Southend to see his design displayed on the knife bin.
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PFCC Holds Public Meeting in Epping
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst held an in-person public meeting in Epping on Thursday 12th May. The meeting was well attended with discussions around visible policing, anti-social behaviour and how the Community Safety Partnership, Police and the Fire and Rescues Service were working together to keep our communities safe.
Prior to the meeting, Mr Hirst and Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Jane Gardner were able to visit the Epping Community Hub offices that opened in September 2021. The Hub is a one stop shop where the public can access Epping Forest District Council and other local services, including police, for help and advice. It also enables agencies to work more closely together.
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PFCC Welcomes Fire Reform White Paper
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners from across the country have welcomed the government’s Fire Reform White Paper published this week.
Following the launch of the White Paper, Stephen Mold (Northamptonshire), Ben Adams (Staffordshire) and Roger Hirst (Essex) said: “Firefighters do a good job and deserve better support in the way this white paper lays out stronger governance and a College of Fire and Rescue to support high standards and improve the implementation of best practice across the country. We need professional, democratically accountable fire and rescue services that are connected to the communities they serve. This White Paper is a positive way of professionalising the service, investing in better training, stronger leadership and a clearer focus on saving lives and reducing risk across our communities."
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Supporting homeless people in Colchester during the pandemic
The Beacon House Project has been expanding its services during the pandemic as the need for wraparound care has increased with people now living alone and without the support of their community.
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner said: “The work that Beacon House has done with vulnerable people has been truly amazing. To be able to provide this level of service in the midst of a pandemic just shows how resilient people are and how committed they are to helping others. We all have a part to play in building the communities we want to live in and it is a privilege to be able to support Beacon House in such crucial work.”
Find out about how the service has helped 91 people so far, from CEO Steve Brown.
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Coming together to push for equality at the IDAHOBIT Conference
This week Essex’s emergency services came together to raise awareness for LGBTQ+ equality progress as part of an International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia event.
Jane Gardner, Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner hosted the event and said: “This is a great conference and one I am proud to be able to support. We all have the right to bring our true selves to work and it is important that all our emergency services understand and reflect the breadth of people across the communities we serve. This event is an opportunity to build greater understanding, share experiences and show a commitment to support and encourage our LGBTQ+ colleagues.”
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PFCC 'People, Partnerships and Prevention' Conference 2022
On Tuesday the 24th of May, we hosted our 'People, Partnerships and Prevention' conference at the Jobserve Community Stadium in Colchester. It was a fantastic event that brought together partners from across Essex to share ideas and best practice on tackling prevention of crime and highlighting the importance of early intervention.
Hosted by our Deputy, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Jane Gardner, we heard from a range of inspirational speakers and took part in various workshops. Watch the video below and find out what our attendees took away from the day.
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PFCC attend Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards
This week, the PFCC has been celebrating the outstanding bravery and selflessness of our police officers in Essex.
On Thursday the 26th of May, the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards recognised officers who have gone above and beyond with remarkable acts of bravery.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst, was honoured to present an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award to PC Cornelius Bowen for this courage in saving the life of a crashed motorcyclist, giving him mouth to mouth during the height of the pandemic.
Well done to all the officers who received awards and who serve as an inspiration to us all.
LGBTQ+ support group is helping young people to find their place in the world
With waiting lists for counselling support already stretched, the pandemic resulted in those within the LGBTQ+ community coping with their anxieties on their own.
Read about the work of Outhouse East, a group providing support and guidance to the LGBTQ+ community in Essex, improving their mental health as well as their physical and psychological wellbeing.
CEO Jacquie Russell said: “For us, it is a true honour when young people come to us and accept the support we can give to them. For them to feel free enough to be able to say how they feel and to ask for support is huge. Just having that initial conversation or putting their foot through the door is momentous. It all makes our service worthwhile. The results we are getting are excellent. We cannot thank the PFCC enough. Without the funding, we could not support the young people that we do.”
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Exploited Into Essex Conference
Every year people arrive in our county and find themselves exploited by organised crime groups. They are exploited in businesses, families and in our community. While some are found, some travel through our county without leaving a trace. For others, like the 39 Vietnamese, Essex is where they lose their lives to this tragic form of crime.
To raise awareness of this exploitation and what we can all do to tackle Human Trafficking, Organised Immigration Crime and Modern-Day Slavery, Essex Police and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, supported by the Essex Chambers of Commerce are organising a conference ‘Exploited into Essex’ on July the 1st 2022 at Tilbury Cruise Terminal.
The conference will highlight the great work that is already being done, the challenges we all face, and what we can do together to build our resilience against these forms of crime and stop the exploitation in our county.
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Talk to your Commissioner
There are a number of online events taking place soon where you can put your questions to Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex. They are listed below and you can find out more details on our Facebook page or via our events section on our website
- Tendring PFCC Public Meeting - 14th June 2022 @ 7pm
- Harlow PFCC Public Meeting - 21st June 2022 @ 7pm
- Southend PFCC Public Meeting - 11th July 2022 @ 7pm