Delivering a safer Essex for everyone through collaboration, opportunity and change

Workshops 

Register for workshops below (choose one from session 1 and one from session 2)

Session 1 – 11:45 AM

Building support for cross-cutting capability in Roads Policing
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Key Topics:

Raise awareness about the importance of cross-cutting commitments in roads policing.

Highlight the benefits of integrating roads policing with wider community safety initiatives.

Gather support and ideas from participants for implementing cross-cutting commitments.

• Identifying and addressing risk factors at the individual, community, and policy levels
  
• Designing evidence-based interventions to reduce incidents and injury severity
  
• Promoting behaviour change through education, awareness campaigns and partner support
  
• Leveraging data collection, analysis, and evaluation to monitor impact and refine strategies

Commissioners Corner: Successful Funding Applications 

Register for Session 1

Practical steps to help you stand out and secure support for your community project
This session will guide you through:

• Crafting a compelling funding proposal
  
• Understanding what funders are really looking for
  
• Avoiding common pitfalls and mistakes
  
• Building lasting relationships with funders
  
• Real-life success stories and practical tips

Tackling ASB and Serious Violence in Our Communities
Register for Session 1

Join us for an insightful and practical workshop exploring how Essex Police, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), and local partners are working together to reduce Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and Serious Violence across our communities.

• This session will highlight the innovative strategies behind Operation Grip and the ASB Hotspot Response, showcasing how data-driven policing, community engagement, and multi-agency collaboration are making a real difference on the ground. 

Using Data to Identify Vulnerable People and Communities
Register for Session 1

Delivered by Caci, this workshop shares the knowledge and the tools that can help us better understand the people and communities we serve.

In using and sharing data safely and effectively agencies, local authorities and emergency services can:

• Spot areas where people may be more vulnerable to crime, poor health, or social isolation
  
• Plan services more effectively by understanding the needs of different neighbourhoods
  
• Work together more efficiently by sharing a common picture of local communities

Alpha Vesta: Creating Safe Spaces From Domestic Abuse (Session 1 only)
Register for Session 1

• Alpha Vesta – ENGAGE | EDUCATE | EMPOWER
  Alpha Vesta’s Vision: To Break the Cycle of Domestic Abuse and Prevent Crisis
  Alpha Vesta’s Mission: To Engage, Empower and Educate

What do we want to achieve?
We want to reduce the social and economic costs of domestic abuse across our communities through awareness, prevention and early intervention.
Through engagement, empowerment and educating communities and workforces to recognise the early indicators of domestic abuse, respond effectively and create safe spaces for adults or children affected to reach out at the earliest point.

Beating Knife Crime, Drug Gangs and Protecting Young People – Essex VVURegister for Session 1

The Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit (VVU) is delivering on its 10-year programme, making huge strides through preventative work, interventions, and enforcement.

This workshop will outline the VVU’s partnership public health approach to addressing violence, providing an overview of its work to raise awareness amongst communities of the work of the partnership, how this is addressing the concerns people have and the tools available to support communities

Session 2 – 1:35 PM

• Building support for cross-cutting capability in Roads Policing
• Register for Session 2

• Commissioners Corner: Successful Funding Applications
  Register for Session 2

• Tackling ASB and Serious Violence in Our Communities
  Register for Session 2

• Using Acorn Data to Identify Vulnerable People and Communities
  Register for Session 2

• Beating Knife Crime, Drug Gangs and Protecting Young People – Essex VVU
  Register for Session 2

Roger Hirst Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex

Roger Hirst was first elected as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex in May 2016 and has since been elected for a third term in May 2024. He became the first Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in the country in October 2017.

Roger’s core belief that safe and secure communities are the bedrock on which we build well-being and prosperity for all, remains central to his vision for making Essex safer. A strong advocate of prevention, partnership and people, Roger has worked hard to build a foundation of collaborative working between emergency services, local authorities, councils, the voluntary sector and communities in Essex, believing we can do more and achieve more together.

A long-standing member of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioner’s Board and Finance Lead for Police and Crime Commissioner’s nationally, Roger led the successful campaign to secure additional funding for policing and achieved the target of recruiting an additional 905 Essex Police officers in March 2023, making the force the biggest in its 185-year history.

Over the next four years Roger’s ambition is to see crime cut by 40 per cent from it’s high in Essex through continuing investment in local policing, using data driven activity to target known hotspots and providing early intervention to identify and protect vulnerable people.

Jane Gardner Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex

Appointed as Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in 2016, Jane has become a cornerstone in the community safety landscape of Essex. She works tirelessly to identify and deliver solutions to the challenges faced by the county, forging stronger bonds with partner services, local authorities and the voluntary sector.

Jane collaborates closely with residents, diverse groups and key agencies ensuring people feel empowered and that they have a voice. With extensive past experience working with communities across Essex, including the County Council and as a Special Constable with Essex Police, Jane brings a wealth of knowledge to her role.

As the Chair of the Southend, Essex, and Thurrock Domestic Abuse Board, Jane is dedicated to supporting victims and continuing efforts to change perpetrators' behaviours. She also chairs the Essex, Southend, and Thurrock Suicide Prevention Board.

Rick Hylton – Chief Fire Officer, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service

Rick Hylton began his fire service career in 1997 with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. He progressed through operational and leadership roles, including Area Manager and Head of Community Safety, where he introduced targeted home safety initiatives and the Service’s first volunteer scheme. He also led improvements in business safety, HR, and staff development, and helped the Service achieve Excellence in equality and inclusion in 2015.

Appointed Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2016, Rick oversaw service delivery, operational support, and the implementation of the Integrated Risk Management Plan. He also led Cambridgeshire through its first HMICFRS inspection.

Rick joined Essex County Fire and Rescue Service in 2019 as Deputy Chief Fire Officer and became Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive in 2022. Since then, he has focused on community needs, workforce development, and modernising the Service. Under his leadership, ECFRS received national recognition, including a gold Public Sector Transformation Award and a silver award from Inclusive Employers in 2024.

Rick chairs the Essex Resilience Forum and has held national leadership roles, including Chair of the NFCC Prevention Committee and Vice Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Warwick University and is a dedicated family man and Sunderland FC supporter.

Ben Julian Harrington QPM, Essex Police Chief Constable

Brought up in North London and educated at Saint Ignatius College in Enfield, Ben-Julian - or ‘BJ’, started policing when he joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1990 in what was then the Chingford and Walthamstow Division of North-East London. He brought with him experience working in Customs and Excise as well as having been a reserve soldier in the Parachute Regiment.

BJ worked his way through the ranks from response officer (responding to 999 calls for help) to become Area Commander for North-West London in October 2014. In that time, he also led the Tottenham High Road and the Broad Water Farm Estate team, oversaw the Secure Counter Terrorist Custody suite at Paddington Green, and was Superintendent in charge of Crime and Operations in Lewisham. Finally, as the Borough Commander for Camden he continued his close work with communities, policing diverse and complex parts of the capital.

He has been Chief Constable of Essex Police since 2018 and has personally led the force’s Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Strategy from the outset. Essex was one of the first forces to share body-worn video footage with community representatives to improve the way both officers and communities understand stop and search and the first force to launch a long-term recruitment and colleague retention campaign based on inclusion and shared values. He is committed to policing with the consent of all communities in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.

Matt Staton, Head of Consultancy, Agilysis

Matt developed his road safety career through 15 years working in Cambridgeshire where he progressed from Road Safety Officer to heading up the service, delivering up to 200 projects per year across road safety, structures and local highways improvements. He then became the road safety partnership delivery manager for the Vision Zero Partnership in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Before joining Agilysis, Matt spent two years with National Highways as their Head of Road User Safety Delivery, overseeing the company’s compliance activities, commercial vehicle incident prevention and support work for its regional teams.

Matt has a broad knowledge base that spans many aspects of the road safety industry and how they interact. This is particularly relevant in developing and coordinating partnership working and supporting policymakers. He has specific expertise in system thinking and applying system-based approaches in road safety management and collision investigation. Matt brings a focus on turning research evidence into good practice with an emphasis on delivery outcomes and how these can be evaluated and shared with others. He has a good understanding of the practical Constraints facing highway authorities and ways to try and overcome them.

Luke Squire

Luke grew up in a home marked by domestic violence, witnessing his mother suffer abuse that ultimately forced the family to flee under police protection. The threats from his birth father were so severe that Luke, his mother, and his brother had to live in secrecy, moving between safe houses and staying hidden from those who meant them harm.

Despite years of harassment—including stalking, manipulation, and emotional intimidation—Luke found the strength to break free. His experiences left deep emotional scars, including PTSD symptoms and anxiety triggers tied to everyday objects and situations. Yet, through therapy and support, he began to heal.

A turning point came when Luke became an uncle to his niece, Orla. Her arrival gave him a renewed sense of purpose and the motivation to become a positive role model. He began attending Futures in Mind groups and discovered a peer mentor training course through Phoenix Futures. Since then, Luke has become a certified Mental Health First Aider, Youth Mental Health First Aider, Suicide First Aider, and Overdose First Aider.

He has supported others in recovery, helped run welcome cafés, served on interview panels, and contributed to co-production projects and even climbed Mount Snowdon with Phoenix Futures service users and staff.