Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county, which consists of over 1.7 million people and around 1,400 square miles.
ABOUT
Essex Constabulary was formed in 1840. In 1965, the force had an establishment of 1,862 officers. Today Essex Police is one of the United Kingdom’s largest non-metropolitan police forces with a strength of more than 6,300 officers, staff members and Specials.
Their main effort is to support victims, be visible to the public, take care of those who are vulnerable and deal with violence in all its forms.
Essex Police’s officers and staff are spread over the 14 districts across the county. You’ll find their headquarters in Chelmsford, Essex, which is also home to the Force Control Room (FCR), where emergency calls are routed to, and the Essex Police College.
The county also has a number of key roads, including the M25, M11, A12, A127 and A13. Plus, there are two airports – Southend and Stansted – as well as numerous airfields, and the county is home to an extensive rail network with 80 stations, including seven on the London Underground network. Essex also has two major ports, Harwich International Port and the Port of Tilbury, and has one of the longest coastlines in the UK.
The force has been a regular innovator and have seen developments in technology and science like CCTV, forensics and DNA which have come a long way since 1840 when Essex Police were first established. In fact, in 1988, DNA was used in the UK for the first time anywhere in the world to secure a murder conviction.
Here at Essex Police, we are constantly thinking of new and innovative ways to help people, keep them safe and to catch criminals.
We have seen many changes over the decades with some really fantastic capabilities but one thing has remained strong over our 180 year history – our commitment to protecting and serving all communities.
Essex Police
As part of the Essex 2020 celebrations Essex Police joined forces with us to showcase the abilities of their many teams in a series of specially produced videos.
Visit our Resource page to view videos about the Dog Unit, Drones Team, Marine Unit and for a virtual tour of the Essex Police Museum.
Follow Essex Police
WATCH
Diversity in Policing (a playlist)
Murder 24/7
Since September 2018, a team of filmmakers from production company Expectation Factual were embedded with the Essex Police Major Crime Teams to film a new documentary series for the BBC which aired in February 2020.
They followed and filmed our Major Crime Teams as they investigated murders in the county from the moment the crime happened through to the conclusion at court. The programme also shows how officers and staff from across the force come together to support each other when a murder happens.
Murder 24/7 is the first time that Essex Police has opened its doors to the public, and the first episode received an average of 1.7 million views across the hour.
You can catch up on Murder 24/7 and its five episodes on BBC iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000frh9/murder-247
LISTEN
Essex 2020 Podcast #14 - Essex Police: solving murder with science + creativity
Essex Police joins forces with Essex 2020 to bring you a true crime special in this extended edition of the Essex 2020 podcast.
The conversation includes some frank and graphic descriptions of the scene of a real crime that some people may find upsetting.
READ
DRONELIFE interview with Essex Police Chief Inspector Darren Deex
Essex Police are recruiting police officers, special constables and detectives. Visit Essex Police careers if you want to learn new skills and become part of the team.