SERP have a successful day in Colchester with Essex Police

Two men were arrested on suspicion of drug driving and an elderly driver had his licence revoked during a road policing operation in Colchester yesterday (Wednesday, April 20, 2016) Officers from the Essex Police Casualty Reduction Section were joined by other road policing officers, Special Constables and a group of student officers from Essex Police College during the operation which aimed to increase road safety and detect offenders using the roads..

The Surround a Town operation forms part of a long-running campaign with Essex County Council and the Safer Essex Roads Partnership and used automatic number plate recognition technology (ANPR) to identify suspect vehicles. Motorcycles and cars were then used to intercept vehicles which were taken to stop-check sites in Cowdray Avenue and Yeomanry Way.

A 90-year-old man from Felixstowe had his licence revoked after he failed an eyesight test at the roadside. Officers requested an urgent revocation from the DVLA using the fast-track procedure. The man was given a lift home and will have to have his eyesight tested and corrected before he can apply for his licence back.

A 23-year-old man from Colchester was arrested on suspicion of driving whilst disqualified,  driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs, driving without insurance and possession class B or C drugs.  He has been released on bail pending further enquiries until July 13, 2016. A 20-year-old man from London was arrested on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs and possession of class B or C drugs. He has been released on bail pending further investigations until July 2, 2016. Another 20-year-old man from London was arrested on suspicion of possession of class B or C drugs. He has also been released on bail pending further enquiries until July 2, 2016. A 27-year-old man from Wickford was arrested on suspicion of assault and harassment. No further action was taken against him and he was released from custody without charge. During the operation 31 drivers were dealt with for not wearing a seatbelt and 19 were spotted using a mobile phone behind the wheel. A total of ten vehicles were seized because their drivers did not have appropriate insurance and 23 vehicles  did not have valid MOTs. Four drivers were dealt with for careless driving and six were found to be driving otherwise than in accordance with the terms of their licence. Four vehicles were found to be displaying illegal number plates. Sgt David Rudd from the Casualty Reduction Unit said: “Yesterday’s operation was a good opportunity for some of our student officers to get their first taste of a live operation with experienced mentors from the world of road policing.  Three even got to make their first arrests! “We continue to detect more drug drivers as a result of training more staff to use the new drug testing kits Drug driving puts not only the life of the driver at risk but the lives of other innocent road users too.  Drug driving is totally unacceptable and out our message is clear – if you take drugs and drive it is only a matter of time before you are caught and put before the courts. “My team’s motivation is simple – it’s about saving lives. We will continue our efforts to keep the roads safe. However the community has a significant part to play in this. Our efforts can only be strengthened by the flow of information from members of the public so I would ask anyone with information about people who take drugs and get behind the wheel to report it. We will act upon information we receive so please tell us what you know by calling us on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”