A former Essex Police constable has quit the force in order to set up a security company tackling thefts and burglaries. Lewis Kearney is a former Police Constable who served for 12 years in the Southend1 Area, including over six years at the now closed Shoebury Police station. He recently resigned from Essex Police to set up the company.
“As Essex Police freely admit, extensive budget cuts have forced them to prioritise,” he said.
“They now rightly focus the limited resources they have remaining where the most harm is being caused in the community, by concentrating on domestic abuse, serious violent crime, sexual offences and child abuse.
“But what they don’t say and what I know first-hand, is that this approach, although necessary, leaves people vulnerable to crimes such as burglary and theft of/from motor vehicle.
READ MORE: Former Basildon Hospital theatre technicans convicted of 650,000 NHS scam face further jail time2
“There’s less officers than ever, they rarely patrol, they cannot respond to every call, and for the calls they do respond to they are regularly failing to arrive at the scene within their promised time limits . I wanted to do something about this.”
Mr Kearney is employing only former police officers to Blueline Security, and they will start providing private security patrols in Southend-on-Sea on the December 1. He continued: “I realised that as police officers, we know how thieves operate and we know how to stop them.
“Most of the powers we used as police officers to prevent crime were powers that every single citizen possesses the difference being that we were trained and experienced in using them.
“We still have that training and experience and can use it to provide the services the police no longer can . As hard as it was to do, I resigned from the police to set up this service.”
According to Mr Kearney, over 80 percent of property crimes such as burglary and theft of/from motor vehicle happens at night.
He added: “Seven days a week, 365 days a year, we will protect our member’s homes and small businesses by conducting intensive, high-visibility, crime preventative patrols throughout the night, ensuring that all accessible exterior doors, windows, garages, sheds, outbuildings and vehicles are safe and secure.
“Our members will also be provided with a direct line to their security patrol officer so they can request their attendance knowing they’re only moments away.”
Every security patrol officer will be equipped with a body camera, and each vehicle will contain a GPS dash camera as well as a defibrillator for use in medical emergencies.
READ MORE: Huge Chelmsford cannabis factory found in industrial estate3
Initially, the service will be provided in West Shoebury and Thorpe Bay. He said: “I personally policed that area for several years and know it well, therefore I decided to launch the business there .
I plan to expand the patrols all over Southend and into the rest of Essex as soon as possible . If you live elsewhere, please help us to help you by requesting us in your area . Ask yourself, if given the choice, would a burglar target a property that was protected by former police officers, or one that wasn’t?”
Membership will cost 49.95 per month and will be limited to the equivalent of a few road’s worth of members in each area.
“As Police Officers, we’ve tried protecting entire towns before and we know how near impossible a task it is, only by making our services exclusive can we deliver the results our members deserve.
“We are dedicated to protecting the communities we serve – that’s why we’ll give a portion of our proceeds to charities including; Care of Police Survivors (COPS)4, a charity dedicated to helping the families of Police Officers who have lost their lives on duty, Essex Air Ambulance5, a charity providing a free life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service6 for the critically ill and injured of Essex and the RNLI7, a charity that saves lives at sea.
“I believe our services will greatly reduce the chances of becoming a victim of crimes such as burglary and theft of/from motor vehicle, and I believe we’ll see a reduction in the numbers of crimes in the areas which we operate; but If I can stop just one person suffering from these horrible crimes then it will be a success in my eyes.”
Further information can be found at www.bluelinesecurityltd.com8
References
- ^ Southend (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ Former Basildon Hospital theatre technicans convicted of 650,000 NHS scam face further jail time (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ Huge Chelmsford cannabis factory found in industrial estate (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ Care of Police Survivors (COPS) (www.ukcops.org)
- ^ Essex Air Ambulance (www.essexairambulance.uk.com)
- ^ Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (www.essexairambulance.uk.com)
- ^ RNLI (rnli.org)
- ^ www.bluelinesecurityltd.com (www.bluelinesecurityltd.com)