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97-528: Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex , in the East of England . Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of 1,420 square miles (3,700 km). The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harrington , who took up the appointment in October 2018. Essex and Kent Police share support services, such as administration, fleet and

194-466: A cause célèbre : its fallout included changes of attitudes on racism and the police, and to the law and police practice. It also led to the partial revocation of the rule against double jeopardy . Two of the perpetrators were convicted of murder on 3   January 2012. After the initial investigation, five suspects were arrested but not charged; a private prosecution subsequently initiated by Lawrence's family failed to secure convictions for any of

291-568: A driving simulator in 2009 following an accident that damaged it beyond repair. Essex Police's Special Branch (SB) was formed in 1970, when MI5 required an input from all provincial police forces. The Special Branch deals with any matters which may involve any form of subversive activity, such as terrorism, which may affect either life or property nationally or internationally. The air and seaports are specific areas where SB officers operate to ensure that those involved in internal and/or external acts of terrorism are prevented from entering or leaving

388-456: A life sentence for an adult, with minimum terms of 15 years and 2 months for Dobson and 14 years and 3 months for Norris. Time spent on remand by Dobson was not deducted from his minimum term to ensure his existing sentence for drug-related offences was served. The judge's sentencing remarks were later published in full online. The judge stated that the sentences reflected that Dobson and Norris were juveniles (Dobson 17, and Norris 16) at

485-415: A Serious Crime Directorate (SCD). It's currently led by Assistant Chief Constable Andy Pritchard who works across both force areas. The collaboration between them began in 2010. Essex Police are overseen by the elected Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner , Roger Hirst . Essex Constabulary was formed in 1840. In 1965, the force had an establishment of 1,862 officers. Southend-on-Sea Borough Police

582-501: A cautious and fact-based reporting style to avoid contempt of court or risk of prejudice to the future trial. A jury was selected on 14   November 2011, and the trial, presided over by Mr Justice Treacy , began the next day at the Central Criminal Court. With the prosecution led by Mark Ellison QC , the case centred on the new forensic evidence and whether it demonstrated the defendant's involvement in

679-603: A comment on his 1997 headline decision. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that if it hadn't been for the Mail 's headline in 1997 —'Murderers: The Mail accuses these men of killing'—and our years of campaigning, none of this would have happened. Britain's police might not have undergone the huge internal reform that was so necessary. Race relations might not have taken the significant step forward that they have. And an 18-year-old A-Level student who dreamed of being an architect would have been denied justice. The Daily Mail took

776-492: A director of intelligence, lead senior investigating officer, support manager and divisional administrative manager, based at the Chelmsford headquarters. This team is supported by section heads. The work of the various departments of Crime Division are both proactive and reactive. The way in which major crimes are investigated has changed over time. 30 years ago, the head of Crime Division would have carried out every part of

873-455: A fighting fund was established to pay for the analysis of forensic evidence and the cost of tracing and re-interviewing witnesses. The family were represented by leading counsel Michael Mansfield QC, assisted by Tanoo Mylvaganam and Annie Dixon who all worked pro bono . The charges against Acourt and Norris were dropped before the trial for lack of evidence. On 23   April 1996, the three remaining suspects were acquitted of murder by

970-457: A full re-examination of the forensic evidence. Initially this was held in secrecy and not publicised; however, in November 2007, police confirmed they were investigating new scientific evidence. The re-examination was led by forensic scientist Angela Gallop . The most important of the new evidence comprised: The police unit manager involved in the matter commented that the new evidence

1067-556: A jury at the Central Criminal Court , after the trial judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Curtis, ruled that the identification evidence given by Duwayne Brooks was unreliable. The costs of the prosecution were paid out of the public purse. The Macpherson report endorsed the judgement, stating that "Mr Justice Curtis could [have] properly reach[ed] only one conclusion" and that "[t]here simply

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1164-498: A lung. Lawrence lost all feeling in his right arm and his breathing was constricted, while he was losing blood from four major blood vessels. Brooks began running, and shouted for Lawrence to run to escape with him. While the attackers disappeared down Dickson Road, Brooks and Lawrence ran in the direction of Shooters Hill . Lawrence collapsed after running 130 yards (120 m); he bled to death soon afterwards. The pathologist recorded that Lawrence managing to run this distance with

1261-727: A monumental risk with that headline. In many ways, it was an outrageous, unprecedented step. Writing in the February 2012 edition of the Socialist Review , Brian Richardson suggested that Dacre was overselling his involvement in what had finally been achieved, stating: It is ... disingenuous of Dacre to claim that the Stephen Lawrence Family Campaign would have petered out if his paper had not ridden heroically to its rescue. The "Murderers" story appeared in February 1997, almost four years after Stephen

1358-622: A national network of agencies fighting against computer crime, headed by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit based in London Docklands . Essex Police's Hi-Tech Crime Unit works closely with other network investigators and law enforcement agencies. Although it has been in existence only a short time, the unit has already seen significant results. Part of the work of the unit involves seizing computer-related evidence and using forensic methodology software. Officers have

1455-451: A partially collapsed lung was "a testimony to his physical fitness". Brooks ran to call an ambulance while an off-duty police officer stopped his car and covered Lawrence with a blanket. Lawrence was taken to Brook General Hospital by 11:05 pm, but he was already dead. All three witnesses at the bus stop at the time of the attack said in their statements that the attack was sudden and short, although none were later able to identify

1552-520: A released mental patient led to demands for stronger preventative measures. MOSOVO work with the Multi-Agency Public Protection Panel (MAPPP), who co-ordinate intelligence and action to reduce the risk posed to the public by potentially dangerous offenders. MAPPP meetings are led by police, probation and social services, with input from other agencies such as housing and criminal justice mental health teams, depending on

1649-424: A senior investigation officer (SIO), who is like the conductor of an orchestra, overseeing all the different parts of the investigations. The SIO works with a MIT and they are supported by the resources of Major Investigation Centralised Administrative Support (MICAS). There are four MIT offices: Harlow, Brentwood, Stanway and Rayleigh. The scale of enquiry determines the manpower required, the well-publicised case of

1746-569: A woman who might have been a vital witness had telephoned detectives three times within the first few days after the killing, and appealed for her to contact them again. The five suspects were previously involved in racist knife attacks around the Eltham area. Four weeks before Lawrence's death, Dobson and Neil Acourt were involved in a racist attack on a black teenager, Kevin London, whom they verbally abused and attempted to stab. Neil's brother Jamie

1843-477: Is commonly used but this is often inaccurate or inadequate as the words naturally exclude forces outside England and Wales , but include some special police forces over which the Home Secretary has some power. The police forces referred to as "territorial" are those whose police areas are defined by: Members of territorial police forces have jurisdiction in one of the three distinct legal systems of

1940-674: Is overseen by a detective inspector. The ECU has two distinct but overlapping functions. The first is the investigation of serious and complex fraud. Referrals to the ECU are from other agencies, such as the Department for Business , Serious Fraud Office and Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. The ECU will also take on investigations referred to it by territorial divisions, subject to certain criteria having been met. The unit does not normally accept investigations directly from members of

2037-429: Is suspected or known. The main function of MOSOVO is to assess the threat posed by sex offenders and other potentially dangerous and violent criminals. 'Dangerous offenders' are those people "likely to inflict serious physical or psychological harm on others". The issue of how to protect the public from dangerous offenders has been vigorously debated since the early 1970s, when a highly publicised homicide case involving

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2134-501: Is the use of such a force in East Timor in substitution for Indonesian National Police . Murder of Stephen Lawrence Stephen Lawrence (13   September 1974 – 22   April 1993) was an 18-year-old black British citizen from Plumstead , southeast London, who was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus on Well Hall Road , Eltham , on the evening of 22   April 1993. The case became

2231-491: The Court of Appeal for Dobson's original acquittal to be quashed. Dobson was in prison at the time for drug dealing . Norris had not been previously acquitted, so no application was necessary in his case. For legal reasons, to protect the investigation and ensure a fair hearing, reporting restrictions were put in place at the commencement of these proceedings; the arrests and subsequent developments were not publicly reported at

2328-594: The Criminal Justice Act 2003 , and this provision came into force in April 2005. It opened murder and certain other serious crimes (including manslaughter , kidnapping , rape, armed robbery , and some drug crimes) to a second prosecution, regardless of when committed, with two conditions – the retrial must be approved by the Director of Public Prosecutions , and the Court of Appeal must agree to quash

2425-749: The G8 Conference in Scotland in 2005 or COP26 officers of the Metropolitan Police who are on protection duties anywhere in the United Kingdom and when taking a person to or from a prison . The United Nations (UN) has operated territorial police forces in those parts of countries which have been under control of the UN from time to time. These were usually formed from police personnel on loan from member countries. A recent example

2522-524: The Independent Police Complaints Commission had ruled that there was no basis for further investigation, Home Secretary Theresa May ordered an independent inquiry by a prominent QC into undercover policing and corruption, which was described as "devastating" when published in 2014. An inquiry into whether members of the police force shielded the alleged killers was set up in October 2009. Stephen Adrian Lawrence

2619-644: The September 11 attacks and 7 July 2005 London bombings . Much of what SB does is highly sensitive, involving national security, and goes unnoticed by the general public. SB officers are also tasked and trained in armed, close protection duties and work to protect royalty, VIPs and anyone else who could be under threat of attack or assassination, whilst in the Essex Police District. The force's Marine Unit, based in Burnham-on-Crouch ,

2716-733: The Spanish colonial government was the Policia Territorial . This gendarmerie corresponded to the Civil Guard in metropolitan Spain . It was commanded by Spanish officers and included Spanish personnel of all ranks. In the United Kingdom (UK) the phrase is gaining increased official (but not yet statutory ) use to describe the collection of forces responsible for general policing in areas defined with respect to local government areas. The phrase " Home Office Police"

2813-632: The criminal justice system by Lord Justice Auld , a former senior presiding judge for England and Wales, had also commenced in 1999 and was published as the Auld Report 6 months after the Law Commission report. It opined that the Law Commission had been unduly cautious by limiting the scope to murder and that "the exceptions should [...] extend to other grave offences punishable with life and/or long terms of imprisonment as Parliament might specify." These recommendations were implemented within

2910-722: The double jeopardy rule and criminalising racist statements made in private. Macpherson also called for reform in the British Civil Service , local governments, the National Health Service , schools, and the judicial system, to address issues of institutional racism. The report was criticised in an October 2000 article in The Times by Michael Gove (later an MP and cabinet minister), who wrote, "The tendentious reasoning and illiberal recommendations of that document have been brilliantly anatomised by

3007-456: The "Fritz" style helmet for tactical duties. The FSU shot Stephen Debley, the first person to be shot by Essex Police for 31 years as of October 2016. They have also been involved in many manhunts, the most well known and recent being the death of PC Dibell, who was shot by 63-year old Peter Reeve in Clacton on Sea. The Essex Police Roads Policing Unit (RPU) operates out of four locations across

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3104-510: The A12, A120, M11 & M25. The Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP) brought together the three local authority areas of Essex County Council , Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock Council to provide a road safety service across the 'Greater Essex' region. The other SERP partners are Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service , Highways England , the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust,

3201-513: The ANPR Intercept Team utilised high-performance pursuit vehicles equipped with automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) systems, including Ford Mondeo ST220s and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IXs , later replaced by Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs and Subaru Imprezas in 2008, to pursue and intercept suspect vehicles with assistance from the force's Air Support Unit. One Subaru Impreza from this fleet would later be converted into

3298-570: The Court of Appeal for an increase in the minimum terms. Juvenile minimum life sentences in a 2000 review (i.e. before the 2003 act passed into law) varied from a "most common" minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 20, placing Dobson and Norris in the middle of that range. On 1 February 2012, the Attorney General announced that he would not be referring the sentences to the Court of Appeal, as he believed that "the minimum terms [were] ... within

3395-694: The East of England NHS Trust and the Safer Roads Foundation. When grouped under the operations of the Mobile Support Division, Essex Police's high-performance traffic unit, the ANPR Intercept Team (later renamed to the Territorial Support Team), was the subject of the first three series of Channel 5 television programme Police Interceptors between 2008 and 2011. Based from Chigwell, Laindon and Stanway,

3492-572: The Force Control Room (FCR) (where emergency calls are routed to) and Essex Police College, are both located in Chelmsford . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harrington , who replaced Stephen Kavanagh after he retired in October 2018. Strategically, Essex is an important force. Bordering London, the force area consists of affluent city suburbs, large urban areas, industrial centres, rural villages, London Stansted Airport (one of

3589-404: The United Kingdom – either England and Wales , Scotland or Northern Ireland . A police officer of one of the three legal systems has all the powers of a constable throughout their own legal system but limited powers in the other two legal systems. Certain exceptions where full police powers cross the border with the officer are when officers are providing planned support to another force such as

3686-527: The X26 Taser . Previously a number of specialist teams within Essex were grouped into the Mobile Support Division. In 2012, Essex Police moved away from the divisional structure to a patrol based structure and the former components of the Mobile Support Division were moved to new command structures. Roads Policing and Dog Section became part of the Response and Patrol function. Crime Division works across

3783-406: The ability to interrogate the seized computer, even when information has been deleted, and rebuild it to find out what was done and how. The unit also assists police officers in computer-related cases, particularly with conducting interviews or producing technical statements, and produces evidence for court. The unit is staffed by internationally trained computer specialists, who keep up-to-date with

3880-486: The accused and the police who handled the case. In July 1997 an inquiry was ordered by the home secretary to identify matters related to the killing, known as the Macpherson Report, which was completed in February 1999 ( see below ) . In 2002, David Norris and Neil Acourt were convicted and jailed for racially aggravated harassment after an incident involving a plain-clothes black police officer. In 2005

3977-528: The accused. It was suggested during the investigation that Lawrence was killed because he was black, and that the handling of the case by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was affected by issues of race. A 1998 public inquiry , headed by Sir William Macpherson , concluded that the original MPS investigation was incompetent and that the force was institutionally racist . It also recommended that

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4074-423: The appropriate range of sentences". On 30   January 2012, it emerged that Norris and Dobson were seeking leave from the Court of Appeal to appeal against their convictions. On 23   August 2012, it was reported that Norris and Dobson had lost the first round of their appeal. On 15   March 2013, it was announced that Dobson had dropped his appeal against his murder conviction. Shortly after Norris

4171-486: The bounds of their instructions. On 14 February 1997, the Daily Mail newspaper labelled all five suspects "murderers". The headline read, "Murderers: The Mail accuses these men of killing. If we are wrong, let them sue us." Underneath this headline appeared pictures of the five suspects: Dobson, Neil and Jamie Acourt, Knight, and Norris. None of the men ever sued for defamation and strong public opinions rose against

4268-418: The bus coming. Brooks claimed that he heard one of Lawrence's assailants saying a racial slur as they all quickly crossed the road and "engulfed" Lawrence. The six aggressors forced Lawrence down to the ground, then stabbed him to a depth of about 5 inches (13 cm) on both sides of the front of his body, in the right collarbone and left shoulder. Both wounds severed axillary arteries before penetrating

4365-639: The busiest international airports in the country) and two of the UK's major ports ( Harwich and Tilbury ). The force also polices one of the largest expanses of coastline of any force in the UK. The police area covers 1,420 square miles (3,700 km) and has a population of around 1,800,000. The force has been a regular innovator and is often used by the Home Office to trial new procedures and equipment, including automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), Lantern (handheld wireless fingerprint verification) and

4462-561: The case. The MOSOVO is also responsible for maintaining the Sex Offenders Register , which came into force under the Sex Offenders Act 1997 . All convicted sex offenders must register their name and address with police and inform them within 14 days of moving to a new property. Territorial police force The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP/GRC) is the federal-level police service. It also acts as

4559-686: The charges were dropped on 29   July 1993, the Crown Prosecution Service citing insufficient evidence. An internal review was opened in August 1993 by the Metropolitan Police . On 16   April 1994, the Crown Prosecution Service stated they did not have sufficient evidence for murder charges against anyone else, despite a belief by the Lawrence family that new evidence had been found. The main issue

4656-402: The country. SB also maintains close contacts with other police services, both within the UK and abroad, to exchange information on persons who are known or believed to be involved in terrorist activity. On the domestic front, SB combat public disorder by dealing with those involved in extreme activity of any description. Special Branch workload has increased exponentially in the years following

4753-844: The county. Part of OPC, the RPU works to the National Roads Policing Strategy which has five strands; casualty reduction, counter terrorism, anti-social use of the roads, disrupting criminality and high visibility patrols of the road network. RPU is supported by the Casualty Reduction Section, the Commercial Vehicle Unit and the Serious Collision Investigation Unit. The RPU patrol a 4,500 miles (7,200 km) road network, including major roads such as

4850-415: The court stated that "[i]f reliable, the new scientific evidence would place Dobson in very close proximity indeed to Stephen Lawrence at the moment of and in the immediate aftermath of the attack, proximity, moreover, for which no innocent explanation can be discerned". The ruling also emphasised that this was to be "a new trial of a defendant who, we repeat, is presumed in law to be innocent," and suggested

4947-606: The day after his punishment was announced, so that it amounted to a caution. Neville Lawrence, Stephen's father, criticised the punishment, saying that Bullock was "guilty on all counts." However, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Federation stated that Bullock had been "largely vindicated" in the proceedings. On 10 March 2006, the Metropolitan Police Service announced that it would pay Duwayne Brooks £100,000 as compensation for how police handled his complaints about their actions toward him after

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5044-454: The double jeopardy rule should be repealed in murder cases to allow a retrial upon new and compelling evidence: this was effected in 2005 upon enactment of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 . The publication in 1999 of the resulting Macpherson Report has been called "one of the most important moments in the modern history of criminal justice in Britain". Jack Straw said that ordering the inquiry

5141-691: The equivalent of the Metropolitan Police TSG unit. The OSG will travel outside of their home force for the collection of suspects that are detained in other parts of the country, who are wanted for offences that took place in Essex. They are based at Boreham, outside of Chelmsford . They will either be wearing the bump cap style baseball caps on patrol, or flat caps dependent on what duty they are undertaking. When not engaged in other specialists duties, OSG officers perform mobile patrols. Most officers are trained in advanced driving, and assist Roads Policing Unit colleagues in pursuits and policing

5238-599: The ethical socialists Norman Dennis and George Erdos and the Kurdish academic Ahmed al-Shahi in the Civitas pamphlet Racist Murder and Pressure Group Politics ." The pamphlet referred to by Gove is a publication by the think tank Civitas, which criticised the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, its procedures, its findings and its reception, as well as broadly exploring what it called "The fanatical mindset... of

5335-517: The inquiry that mistakes had been made in the murder investigation, including his own ignorance that he could have arrested the suspects four days after the killing simply on reasonable suspicion , a basic point of criminal law. The report also found that the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist . A total of 70 recommendations for reform, covering both policing and criminal law, were made. These proposals included abolishing

5432-565: The investigation in a murder case himself, including interviewing key witnesses. However, this has now been transformed with the advent of computerised Major Investigation Rooms and concerns over handling complex, high-profile enquiries like the Stephen Lawrence case . In April 2000, the Major Investigation Team (MIT) was set up to investigate homicides, abductions, rapes and extortion. Each major investigation has

5529-423: The junction of Dickson Road to see if he could see a bus coming. Brooks was still on Well Hall Road, between Dickson Road and the roundabout with Rochester Way and Westhorne Avenue . Brooks saw a group of six white youths crossing Rochester Way on the opposite side of the street near the area of the zebra crossing and moving towards them. At or just after 10:38 pm, he called out to ask whether Lawrence saw

5626-641: The latest changes in technology and software. They are also able to advise businesses of the danger of computer crime, particularly in e-commerce. The role of the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) is to assist criminal investigation across the county by bringing together local intelligence from different divisions and out of the police area. The FIB collects information on dangerous sex offenders and those criminals whose activities span more than one area of Essex or across counties. They also analyse trends and links between crimes, so that they can use

5723-580: The law was changed. As part of the findings on the Lawrence case, the Macpherson Report had recommended that the rule against double jeopardy (the common law rule that once acquitted an accused person could not be tried a second time for the same crime) should be repealed in murder cases, and that it should be possible to subject an acquitted murder suspect to a second trial if "fresh and viable" new evidence later came to light. The Law Commission later added its support to this in its report "Double Jeopardy and Prosecution Appeals" (2001). A parallel report into

5820-491: The line of duty. Since its establishment in 1984, the Police Memorial Trust has erected 50 memorials nationally to some of those officers. Since 1849, the following officers of Essex Police were killed while attempting to prevent or stop a crime in progress: Essex Police is one of the United Kingdom's largest non-metropolitan police forces with a strength of over 4000 sworn police officers . Its headquarters,

5917-782: The local Cambridge Harriers athletics club, and appeared as an extra in Denzel Washington 's film For Queen and Country . At the time of his murder, he was studying technology and physics at the Blackheath Bluecoat School and English language and literature at Woolwich College , and was hoping to become an architect. Lawrence had spent the day of 22   April 1993 at Blackheath Bluecoat School. After school, he visited shops in Lewisham , then travelled by bus to an uncle's house in Grove Park . He

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6014-414: The media. Such claims had surfaced before, and been investigated in 2007, but were reignited in 2013 when a former undercover police officer stated in an interview that, at the time, he had been pressured to find ways to "smear" and discredit the victim's family, in order to mute and deter public campaigning for better police responses to the case. Although further inquiries in 2012 by both Scotland Yard and

6111-523: The militant anti-racist" with references to Malcolm X among others. The government gave the cost of the inquiry as £4.2 million, of which £3.5 million was paid by the Metropolitan Police. In 1997, Lawrence's family registered a formal complaint with the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), which in 1999 exonerated the officers who had worked on the case of allegations of racism. Only one officer, Detective Inspector Ben Bullock,

6208-436: The murder inquiry's Det. Sgt. John Davidson had taken money from known drug smuggler Clifford Norris, the father of David Norris, a chief suspect in the investigation. Neil Putnam, a former corrupt police detective turned whistleblower , told a BBC investigation that Clifford Norris was paying Davidson to obstruct the case and to protect the suspects. "Davidson told me that he was looking after Norris and that to me meant that he

6305-413: The murder, characterized as "racist stereotyping" of him as a hostile young black man, according to a statement from Brooks' solicitors firm. On 25   July 2006, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) announced that it had asked the Metropolitan Police to look into alleged claims of police corruption that may have helped hide the killers of Lawrence. A BBC investigation alleged that

6402-454: The murder, or was the result of later contamination due to police handling. The spot of blood was so small that it would have dried almost instantly, leading to the conclusion that it was transferred at the crime scene. On 3 January 2012, after the jury had deliberated for just over 8 hours, Dobson and Norris were found guilty of Lawrence's murder. The two were sentenced on 4 January 2012 to detention at Her Majesty's Pleasure , equivalent to

6499-459: The murder. The police also did not investigate the suspects' houses for four days. Detective Superintendent Brian Weeden, the officer who had been leading the murder investigation from its third day, and who led the murder squad for 14 months, explained to the McPherson inquiry in 1998 that part of the reason no arrests had taken place by the fourth day after the killing (Monday 26   April)

6596-465: The murdered schoolgirl Danielle Jones in June 2001 being a good example of the four offices 'pooling' resources and working as one team. The OSG are members of Essex Police who are trained to deal with riots, drugs raids, Method of entry (MOE) Specialist MOE (SMOE) and Chemical Biological Radiation & Nuclear (CBRN) and evacuation in the event of a CBRN attack, and other public order incidents. They are

6693-618: The original Metropolitan Police Service investigation had been incompetent and that officers had committed fundamental errors, including failing to give first aid when they reached the scene, failing to follow obvious leads during their investigation, and failing to arrest suspects. The report found that there had been a failure of leadership by senior MPS officers and that recommendations of the 1981 Scarman Report , compiled following race-related riots in Brixton and Toxteth , had been ignored. Detective Superintendent Brian Weeden said during

6790-399: The original acquittal because of new and compelling evidence. On 27   July 2006, the Daily Mail repeated its "Murderers" front page. In July 2010, The Independent described the Lawrence killing – despite it having happened more than 17 years previously – as "one of the highest-profile unsolved racially motivated murders". In June 2006, a cold case review commenced, involving

6887-483: The overall performance of the force. The unit also utilise mobile surveillance teams. Day-to-day business for the SCD includes investigations into serial crimes, such as burglary, car crime and robbery, where criminals cross multiple borders to commit crime. The Economic Crime Unit (ECU) is part of SCD and is based at Brentwood. The ECU is made up of detective officers and accredited civilian financial investigators, whose work

6984-771: The populated areas of Loughton , Waltham Abbey , Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill from the Metropolitan Police , a result of boundary changes to the Metropolitan Police District for it to match Greater London 's boundaries. Epping Forest Keepers act as Epping Forest constables in the Forest parishes in the south-west of the Essex Police area; they have different powers from those of the Essex Police. Chief constables of Essex have been: The Police Roll of Honour Trust and Police Memorial Trust list and commemorate all British police officers killed in

7081-685: The provincial police service in every province except for Ontario , and Quebec , which operate provincial police services, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador , which is served by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary . The RCMP is also contracted to act as the territorial police force in Nunavut , Yukon and the Northwest Territories in addition to being the federal police force in those Canadian territories. A separate Sahrawi indigenous unit serving

7178-484: The public. The second function is the confiscation and/or forfeiture of assets held by persons convicted of drug trafficking offences. With the arrival of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the government's determination to be more proactive in this area the scope of confiscation and/or forfeiture has increased to include criminal offences of an acquisitive nature. The Hi-Tech Crime Unit deals with computer crime and

7275-590: The right people and the right methods in the right places to prevent crime, this has been discontinued and now has been banned in the area. The Stolen Vehicle Section of the Force Intelligence Bureau was formed around 1964 to lend assistance and support to police officers in dealing with motor vehicle crime. One of the main functions of the section is the examination and identification of suspect vehicles, plant and other equipment, both by thermal and chemical etching of erased and hidden serial and identification numbers. After examination, all vehicles identified as stolen by

7372-819: The roads using high performance vehicles. Alternatively, officers may support local officers in policing the night-time economy. The OSG train regularly in public order tactics and methods of entry. The FSU provide firearms and tactical assistance, equivalent to the Met's CO19 branch. They respond to firearms callouts, help out with drug raids, as well as taking part in covert operations. They also patrol Stansted Airport , and in September 2016, armed patrols started at Southend Airport and Lakeside shopping centre . The FSU officers are all Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) and can go on to be Specialist Firearms Officers (SFOs). They will either be wearing baseball caps on patrol, or

7469-413: The same time it was disclosed that Dobson's original acquittal had been quashed by the Court of Appeal , allowing a retrial to take place. Such an appeal had only become possible following the 2005 change in the law, although Dobson was not the first person to be retried for murder as a result. On 3   January 2012, Dobson and Norris were found guilty of Lawrence's murder; the pair were juveniles at

7566-431: The suspects. In the days following Lawrence's murder, several residents came forward to provide names of suspects and an anonymous note was left on a police car windscreen and in a telephone box naming a local gang as the five main suspects. The suspects were Gary Dobson, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight, and David Norris. In February 1999, officers investigating the handling of the initial inquiry revealed that

7663-415: The territorial divisions of Essex and with forces nationwide, providing resources and expertise. As a division within Essex Police, it deals with the specialist aspects of crime investigation, tending to focus on serious crime, but not exclusively and provides support to territorial divisions' efforts in investigating crime. Crime Division has a command team structure of a divisional commander, supported by

7760-437: The time of the crime and were sentenced to detention at Her Majesty's pleasure , equivalent to a life sentence for an adult, with minimum terms of 15 years 2 months and 14 years 3 months respectively for what the judge described as a "terrible and evil crime". In the years after Dobson and Norris were sentenced, the case regained prominence when concerns of corrupt police conduct during the original case handling surfaced in

7857-402: The time of the offence, which took place before the Criminal Justice Act 2003 ; the starting point for the minimum term was therefore 12 years. The judge acknowledged this was "lower than some might expect". A similar crime committed in 2011 as an adult would have justified a minimum sentence of 30 years. Following the 2012 convictions, Paul Dacre , Daily Mail editor since 1992, issued

7954-416: The time. Dobson's acquittal was quashed following a two-day hearing on 11 and 12   April 2011, enabling his retrial. On 18   May 2011, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment and the reporting restrictions were partially lifted. It was announced by the Crown Prosecution Service that the two would face trial for Lawrence's murder in light of "new and substantial evidence". The judgment of

8051-500: The unit carry a 'Polexam' tamperproof marker. This is placed on a number of locations on the examined vehicle and a marker created on the Police National Computer to indicate that it has been subject of a previous police examination. The unit were responsible for the implementation of the "decoy vehicle" programme. They are also involved in vehicle crime analysis and attend warrants and briefings where vehicle crime

8148-474: The use of computers in committing crimes. Offences may include harassment, theft, hacking, phone phreaking (making telephone calls which are then charged to another person's bill) and child pornography. Many of these are new crimes, which have only appeared since the widespread availability of computers and the Internet. The Hi-Tech Crime Unit is a relatively new addition to policing in Essex and forms part of

8245-542: Was accused of stabbing teenagers Darren Witham in May 1992 and Darren Giles in 1994, causing Giles to suffer a cardiac arrest. The stabbings of victims Gurdeep Bhangal and Stacey Benefield, which both occurred in March 1993, in Eltham, were also linked to Neil and Jamie Acourt, David Norris and Gary Dobson. Within three days of the crime, prime suspects had been identified. No arrests were made, however, until over two weeks after

8342-599: Was born in Greenwich District Hospital on 13   September 1974 to Jamaican parents who had emigrated to the UK in the 1960s. His father was Neville Lawrence, then a carpenter, and his mother was Doreen , then a special needs teacher . Brought up in Plumstead , South-East London, he was the eldest of three children, the others being Stuart (born 1976) and Georgina (born 1982). During his teenage years, Lawrence excelled in running, competing for

8439-757: Was denied leave to appeal. On 18   May 2022, it was reported that David Norris's request to be moved to an open prison in advance of his possible release was denied. In 2016 police released an enhanced image from a CCTV camera, showing the face of a witness they have not been able to identify. On 31   July 1997, the home secretary , Jack Straw , ordered a public inquiry , to be conducted by Sir William Macpherson and officially titled "The Inquiry Into The Matters Arising From The Death of Stephen Lawrence", and published as The Macpherson report . Its report, produced in February 1999, estimated that it had taken "more than 100,000 pages of reports, statements, and other written or printed documents" and concluded that

8536-481: Was established by the county borough of Southend-on-Sea , England , in 1914. In 1969, Southend-on-Sea Borough Police amalgamated with Essex Constabulary to become the Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary . This merger was campaigned against by the council and the local MPs . Colchester , at one time, also had its own police force. The title was shortened to Essex Police in 1974. On 1 April 2000, Essex Police's boundary expanded further south-west, taking on

8633-422: Was joined there by his friend Duwayne Brooks , and they played video games until leaving at around 10:00   pm. After realising that the 286 bus on which they were travelling would get them home late, they decided to change for either bus route 161 or bus route 122 on Well Hall Road . Lawrence and Brooks arrived at the bus stop on Well Hall Road at 10:25   pm. Lawrence walked along Well Hall Road to

8730-538: Was killed. For much of the intervening period the mainstream press, including the Daily Mail , were openly hostile and suspicious of a family that so vocally criticised the police. On 5 January 2012, it was reported that the Attorney General was reviewing the minimum terms at the request of a member of the public, to determine whether he believed them to be "unduly lenient" , and if so whether to apply to

8827-469: Was moved under the responsibility of the Special Branch in April 2014 as a result of force cutbacks. The Serious Crime Division (SCD) consists of a team of highly experienced detectives who are involved in investigating serious and organised crime inside and outside of the Essex police area. The work of the SCD is centrally coordinated to prioritise crimes and locations that will have most effect on

8924-434: Was no satisfactory evidence available". An inquest into the death of Lawrence was held in February 1997. The five suspects refused to answer any questions, claiming privilege against self-incrimination. The inquest concluded on 13   February 1997, with the jury returning a verdict after 30 minutes' deliberation of unlawful killing "in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five white youths"; this finding went beyond

9021-468: Was only found because of scientific developments and developments in forensic approaches that had taken place since 1996 which allowed microscopic blood stains and hair fragments to be analysed for DNA and other microscopic evidence to be found and used forensically. Gary Dobson and David Norris were arrested and charged without publicity on 8 September 2010 and on 23   October 2010 the Director of Public Prosecutions , Keir Starmer QC , applied to

9118-412: Was ordered to face disciplinary charges for neglect of duty. Bullock, who was second in command of the investigation, was later found guilty of failure to properly brief officers and failure to fully investigate an anonymous letter sent to police, but he was acquitted of 11 other charges. Four other officers who would have been charged as a result of the inquiry retired before it concluded. Bullock retired

9215-501: Was that he had not known the law allowed arrest upon reasonable suspicion – a basic point of criminal law. On 7   May 1993, the Acourt brothers and Dobson were arrested. Norris turned himself in to police and was likewise arrested three days later. Knight was arrested on 3   June. Neil Acourt, picked out at an identity parade , and Luke Knight were charged with murder on 13   May and 23   June 1993 respectively, but

9312-407: Was the most important decision he made during his tenure as home secretary from 1997 to 2001. In 2010, the Lawrence case was said to be "one of the highest-profile unsolved racially motivated murders". On 18   May 2011, after a further review, it was announced that two of the original suspects, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were to stand trial for the murder in the light of new evidence. At

9409-421: Was with the identification evidence by Brooks, which was seen as both tainted by procedural irregularities, and not strong enough under case law: this view was borne out by the later private prosecution. In September 1994, Lawrence's family initiated a private prosecution against the initial two suspects and three others: Jamie Acourt, Gary Dobson and David Norris. The family were not entitled to legal aid and

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