Essex Police names new marine launch after late special constable
Essex Police has officially launched a new marine policing vessel named in honour of a special constable who volunteered with the force’s Marine Unit for six years before his death during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new launch, Toby Speller, was formally welcomed into service during a ceremony at Bradwell Marina attended by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, senior officers and members of Special Constable Toby Speller’s family.
Mr Speller joined Essex Police as a special constable in 2004 and later became one of the first volunteer officers to serve within the force’s dedicated Marine Unit. He died from Covid-19 in January 2021.
The 42-foot vessel replaces the force’s previous launch, Alert IV, and will operate alongside the Marine Unit’s rigid-hulled inflatable boat Sentinel across Essex’s 350-mile coastline stretching from the Thames estuary to the Suffolk border.
Essex Police said the vessel had been designed for year-round operational use in all weather conditions and would support patrols targeting anti-social behaviour, water safety and incidents involving personal watercraft.
Marine policing remains a relatively specialist area within UK policing, but forces with significant coastlines have increasingly focused on seasonal anti-social behaviour linked to jet skis and other small craft.
Essex Police launched Operation Wave-Breaker in 2021 following rising reports of nuisance and dangerous behaviour involving personal watercraft along parts of the county’s coastline. The force said reported incidents had since “dropped considerably”, with the approach later adopted nationally as good practice by the College of Policing.
As well as patrols aimed at public safety and anti-social behaviour, the Marine Unit works alongside organisations including HM Coastguard, the RNLI and fisheries enforcement teams.
Chief Constable Harrington described the naming of the launch as “a visible and lasting endorsement” of the contribution made by volunteers and marine partners to policing along the Essex coastline.