In the know

PC Szewczyk and PC Hopkins have been out this week speaking with local schools, residents of Fitzrobert Place in Egham and parents of the surrounding schools following repeated reports of inconsiderate and unsafe parking. 

Detectives are continuing to investigate the report of rape near Chertsey Bridge between 6.45pm and 7.30pm last Saturday night (8 March). Specialist officers from our Sexual Offences Investigation Team are supporting the victim and we will provide any further updates, including any suspect descriptions, as soon as we are able. Borough Commander Ian Nash said: “I fully appreciate the concern this has caused within the local community and can reassure residents it is being treated extremely seriously and officers have been working around the clock to establish the circumstances of what has taken place. “A huge amount of work has been done by the investigation team including a CCTV trawl of the area, examination of forensic opportunities and house-to-house enquiries, in order to progress this case. “Over the coming weekend, officers will continue to maintain a presence in the area and I urge anyone with information who has not already been spoken to by police to contact us at Contact us | Surrey Police quoting ref PR/45250027885.”

Following an extensive investigation by Surrey Police’s Complex Abuse Unit, and four-week trial, two men have been found guilty of multiple counts of child sex offences. Stephen Ireland, 40, (DOB: 8/3/1984) from Addlestone, was found guilty of the rape of a child under 13, three counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and the sexual assault of a child under 13, as well as conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, arranging commission of a child sex offence, six counts of making indecent photographs of children, four counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child, possession of prohibited images of children and possession of an extreme pornographic image. Ireland and his partner, David Sutton, 27, (DOB: 10/10/1997) from Addlestone, were also found guilty of one count of voyeurism and one count of perverting the course of justice. Sutton was found guilty of three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image. However, the jury found Sutton and Ireland not guilty of the conspiracy offences with which they had also been charged, including three counts of arranging a child sexual offence, five counts of conspiracy to sexually assault a child, one count of conspiracy to kidnap a child and one count one count of conspiracy to administer a substance with intent. The verdicts were returned yesterday (12 March), following the trial at Guildford Crown Court. Both men had already pleaded guilty to a number of offences at the start of the trial, including possessing prohibited images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image, and distributing an indecent photograph of a child. Ireland was arrested in April 2024 following a report of the rape of a 12-year-old boy. A search of a phone hidden in his flat revealed indecent images of children. Both were arrested on 11 June 2024 for distribution and possession of indecent images of children. On 14 August 2024, charges were authorised for 44 offences (later increased to 45), relating to Ireland and Sutton, and spanning the period between August 2022 and July 2024. Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Debbie White, Head of Surrey Police’s Public Protection Team, said: "Both men have demonstrated an extreme sexual interest in children and the fact that the jury has found them both guilty of multiple sexual offences today means that they will no longer pose that risk. “This has been an extremely difficult and complex investigation, and I would like to thank all those involved for their hard work and dedication. I hope the convictions today send a clear message to any victim of a sexual offence, that you will be listened to, you will be supported, and we will investigate such crimes thoroughly.”

Stephen Ireland and David Sutton will be sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on 30 June.

PCSO Turlui was at Chertsey Library on 14 March for Meet the Beat  – thank you to those who attended, it was great to see so many of you.

This time last Friday, we joined officers who were carrying out a proactive operation within Camberley and along the A30 to tackle county lines drug dealing and offending on Surrey’s roads. During the evening, officers patrolled the area and used a stop site to search vehicles suspected of being linked to drug dealing or other criminal activity. This led to: • 60 vehicles stopped, • 20 fines issued for traffic offences, • 5 arrests for drug offences including intent to supply class A drugs

UPDATE: After appearing at the Court of Appeal on Thursday 13 March, three of the men’s sentences for Robbery were increased after being deemed unduly lenient. Harry Mackay will now serve 13 and a half years in prison. Rico Persechino will now serve 13 and a half years in prison. Jason Connors will now serve 8 years and 4 months in prison. Original information - An organised crime group who carried out multiple burglaries, a vicious assault, and stole more than £215,000 worth of high-value cars have been jailed for a total of twenty seven and a half years. In 2023, police identified a series of residential burglaries which could be linked via a distinctive Audi A8, which was one of just fifteen in the country. The Audi was then seen at a petrol station with a wonky number plate which didn’t match its genuine details. Soon after, a second car suspected of being linked to the series was identified by a distinctive GB sticker on the back. However, the challenge remained to identify the people involved and a complex investigation began which used a variety of tactics to uncover the full extent of their crimes. Between June and August 2023, members of the group burgled multiple homes and were also linked to other offences including keyless car theft, where vehicles were taken close to the owners’ house or from the front drive.  Areas targeted included Epsom and Walton-On-Thames in Surrey and Croydon, Chessington, New Malden, Raynes Park and Surbiton in the Metropolitan area. They would scope out a target vehicle, and either commit a burglary to steal the keys or use illegal devices to gain keyless entry. They would then drive the vehicle away and park it elsewhere for a short time to see if any tracking devices had been activated. In the meantime, they would identify similar vehicles which were insured, source illegal fake number plates, and fit them to the stolen vehicles to try and evade detection.  On some occasions the stolen cars would ultimately end up at ‘chop shops’, where they were broken up into parts and sold for profit. During the burglaries at both residential properties and some shops, they caused thousands of pounds worth of damage and on one occasion, three of the men (Harry Mackay, Rico Persechino and Jason Connors) - assaulted the occupier of an address with weapons. After gathering a body of evidence, on 29 August 2023 police proactively apprehended Rico Persechino and Harry Mackay outside a shop in East Grinstead. Mackay tried to escape by running inside and heading to the staff door but he was swiftly caught. Officers later found a keyless car theft device that he’d tried to discard inside the shop. The police investigation used a variety of tactics including identifying cloned number plates, tracking vehicles through ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) and matching the suspects’ descriptions and clothing to CCTV footage. Often when committing a burglary at a shop, the group brought a large white carrier bag to carry the stolen goods and a comparison of CCTV footage enabled officers to tie offences to them due to the appearance of this same bag each time. One victim of the group's criminal activities said “The burglary was very distressing for both my partner and myself, and we felt a significant impact after the unwelcome intrusion from these criminals. I was very angry and upset and when I met with detectives the following day, I was close to tears and that’s not in my nature. The thought of strangers going through your personal possessions, and the damage they caused to gain access to my property was scary.  My partner lost family jewellery that had been passed down through generations. After the robbery I said I wanted to move, and I still might as this has had a long-term effect on me. I’m pleased to see the sentence this group were handed, and I was very impressed with the brilliant work of the police officers and detectives dealing with this case, they gave me faith throughout.” Lead investigator, Detective Inspector Daniel Voller, shared: “This was a sophisticated and organised operation and exposing the full extent of their crimes was only possible thanks to the hard work and diligence of everyone involved, from detectives to intelligence teams. These thieves had no regard for anyone but themselves and escalated their offending from stealing cars outside homes to breaking inside and committing a serious assault. We have worked relentlessly over many months to prepare a strong case against them and I’m pleased our efforts have resulted in getting them behind bars.” Following a trial at Guildford Crown Court on Monday 9 December, brothers Harry, Frankie and Stevey MacKay appeared along with Jason Connors and Rico Persechino for sentencing. Harry Mackay, 34 (DOB 27/04/1990), from Epsom pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Steal Motor Vehicles, Conspiracy to Burgle and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and was sentenced to 8 years. Frankie Mackay, 35 (DOB 24/05/1989), from Epsom, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Steal Motor Vehicles and was sentenced to 39 months. Stevey Mackay, 32 (DOB 08/02/1992), from Kingston-Upon-Thames pleaded guilty to Steal Motor Vehicles and was sentenced to 39 months. Jason Connors, 29 (DOB 25/08/1995) from Croydon pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months. Rico Persechino, 35 (DOB 01/04/1989) from Kingston-Upon-Thames pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Steal Motor Vehicles, Conspiracy to Burgle and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months

Elmbridge Safer Neighbourhood Team had a very successful plain clothes shoplifting operation yesterday (Thursday 13th March 2025). Four arrests were made, one in Cobham for an alleged theft of £160 worth of Pokemon cards, one in Weybridge for an alleged theft of clothing, and then a further two in Cobham for alleged thefts of a large amount of groceries. One suspect has subsequently been charged with theft, one suspect has been given an out of court disposal, and two suspects have been bailed pending further investigation. The team worked closely with shop security teams to identify those acting suspiciously and their joint working has clearly paid off.

By analysing reams and reams of data to determine the placement of all serious violence and anti-social behaviour over the last few years, Surrey Police pinpointed 15 locations across Surrey that are most likely to be the setting of these incidents. With that information, over the last 12 months we've targeted our resources to these places in a bid to prevent crime from happening in the first place. And it's working -serious violence has decreased by 19% across the hotspots, contributing to a countywide reduction of 5%, proving that by making educated decisions, we can be in the right place at the right time to cut crime.

We are committed to protecting young people and identifying vulnerability during stop and search and use of force interactions. To strengthen this approach, we are enhancing our safeguarding measures to ensure that every encounter considers the risks and vulnerabilities young people may face.

When a stop and search or use of force involves a person under 18, officers will now submit a safeguarding referral form and, where possible, notify their parent, guardian, or carer. A safeguarding referral form may also be submitted for individuals who are care leavers or currently in care, as well as any person identified as vulnerable due to risks such as exploitation, gang involvement, county lines, or abuse. Under 18s account for 25.1% of all stop and searches over the last 12 months (5,386 searches).

By age group:

• 15-17-year-olds: 18.4%

• 13-14-year-olds: 5.5%

• 10-12-year-olds: 1.2%

• No searches of children under 10 recorded.

Why expand safeguarding referrals for under 18s?

• Nearly half (48%) of stop and searches on 13-15-year-olds already result in referrals, highlighting existing concerns in this age group.

• Officers are encouraged to consider safeguarding as a standard part of stop and search and uses of force, ensuring early intervention where needed.

• Teenagers are at higher risk of exploitation, gang involvement, and county lines, making early identification critical.

• Safeguarding referrals enable collaboration with agencies like social services, education, and health to provide the right support.

There has recently been a 29% increase in use of force incidents involving under 18s recorded, with the highest rises in West Surrey (+37%) and East Surrey (+35%). We are committed to reviewing why some young people repeatedly come to police attention and working with partners on long-term solutions.

We are reinforcing training to ensure officers:

• Assess potential safeguarding concerns when encountering a young person in a stop and search or use of force incident.

• Consider risks beyond the immediate reason for the stop or use of force, such as domestic abuse or exploitation.

• Identify repeat individuals and work with partners to reduce the need for further police intervention.

By embedding safeguarding into stop and search and use of force, we aim to protect young people, ensure early intervention, and work with partners to address vulnerabilities at the root.