In the know

Surrey Police took part in a multi-agency exercise at Runnymede Borough Council recently, teaming up with emergency service partners to test the collective response to a major incident. The table-top exercise – which simulated the event of a collapsed reservoir – involved partners from Surrey Local Resilience Forum (SLRF), including Surrey Fire and Rescue, Surrey County Council, the Environment Agency and Surrey 4x4 Volunteers. Representatives from the Army, NHS and various local councils also got involved. Discussions between partners involved looking at a strategic and tactical response to the major incident, as well as how partners would communicate with the public, ensuring they remain aware and understand the actions they should take in the event of a potential emergency. Superintendent Fash Mohammadi, who attended the exercise on 21 May, said: "Protocols for major and critical incidents play a vital role in ensuring a coherent and effective response. "This exercise showcased the vital role of multi-agency collaboration, highlighting how clear communication and coordinated efforts across emergency services and local authorities are essential for managing complex and potentially high-impact emergencies. "Taking part and playing an active role in these scenario-based exercises ensures we are best placed in our response to any major incident, with our partners able to work collectively and efficiently to protect the public."

Our Safer Neighbourhood Teams from across North Surrey recently joined forces to address anti-social behaviour (ASB) and retail crime concerns in Staines and be a visible presence in the town centre. 

Their priorities were to target and arrest those responsible for retail crime, such as shoplifting, take robust action against ASB offenders and engage with the community and partner agencies, offering crime prevention advice to the public and business owners. Plain-clothed officers were also out pursuing and dealing with anyone causing trouble. The operation resulted in five arrests, multiple vehicles seized, shoplifters brought into custody and drugs removed from the community. 

A survivor-victim who saw her perpetrator jailed for 20 months for stalking her and threatening to kill her, has said she felt “empowered and listened to throughout” after finding the courage to speak to Surrey Police. The survivor-victim found the strength to report the offences committed by Connor Hotchkiss (DOB:05/12/1989), after he called her 65 times in one day, during which he made repeated threats to kill both her and her children. This prompted her to submit a request to the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, following which she discovered Hotchkiss was an extremely violent individual with a history of committing domestic abuse. More commonly known as Clare’s Law following the tragic case of Clare Wood, who was murdered by her former partner in Greater Manchester in 2009, the DVDS was introduced in March 2014 to allow the police to disclose information about previous violent or abusive offending by an individual where this may help protect their partner or ex-partner.

The survivor-victim then found herself being stalked by Hotchkiss and reported his offending to the police. He was arrested and an investigation began, led by the West Surrey Domestic Abuse Team.

He was subsequently found guilty of stalking involving fear of violence and was sentenced on 27 May at Guildford Crown Court. He had already spent six months on remand and was not allowed to count any of his bail days against his 20-month imprisonment when he was sentenced. He was also issued with a restraining order until 2030.

A drug dealer has been put behind bars following a lengthy investigation into his crimes, which included using his legitimate car wash business to launder drug money. His associate has also been given a suspended sentence. Adrian Lugjaj, 31 (DOB 03/10/93), from Ashford, pleaded guilty to four charges including two counts of possession with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of drugs and money laundering. Giampiero Cerma, 28 (DOB 09/09/96), from Sunbury-on-Thames, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply. Lugjaj was stopped in his car in May 2022, alongside a male passenger and a search revealed a large quantity of cannabis, scales, cash and a list of dealers in the vehicle. More cash was later found at his home address.

Messages on Lugjaj’s phone indicated he was using his legitimate car wash business to funnel the money he made from drug dealing. His associate Cerma was also later found to be in possession of large quantities of cash, as well as a food delivery bag found in the footwell of his car containing multiple deal bags of herbal cannabis. A combined value of £6,844 in cash was seized from the vehicle stops.

During further searches of their home addresses, officers discovered more cash found in Lugjaj’s property and a large quantity of cannabis found at Cerma’s address. The latter was later stopped in a vehicle, alongside another man, and a large quantity of cannabis was found in a rucksack. On arrest, Lugjaj denied any involvement in these offences, however, later pleaded guilty at court, along with Cerma. During the investigation, officers conducted financial enquiries into personal bank accounts and the car wash business account held by Lugjaj. These revealed a total of £250,708 had been deposited and withdrawn from Lugjaj’s accounts during the offence period. However, the earnings declared by Lugjaj to HM Customs and Revenue didn’t reflect the sum transferred through his bank accounts. On 23 May at Guildford Crown Court, Lugjaj was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for money laundering, and two years for each of the drug offences, to be served concurrently.

Cerma was given three concurrent two-month sentences for the drugs charges against him, suspended for 18 months. PC Rachael Jordan, from our Proactive Investigation Team, said: “This was a long and complex investigation and involved different teams across our Force coming together and working collaboratively. Thanks to the efforts of those teams, including our response officers and financial investigation team, drugs have been removed from our communities and the criminals involved are facing punishment.” Spelthorne Borough Commander, Inspector Matt Walton, added: “Drugs wreck communities and contribute to an increase in other offences linked to violence and even fatalities. Taking drugs off our streets is just the start, we must work together to tackle concerns around drug use and detain those who offend. It will continue to be a priority for us, to keep our communities safe.”

Our rural crime officers spent a morning working alongside ringers from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to tag and take DNA swabs from these peregrine falcon chicks, recently hatched at a site in Surrey. Peregrines are highly prized in the illegal wildlife trade and two clutches of eggs were stolen in the county last year. These birds and their eggs are protected, and we have been working with the National Wildlife Crime Unit, local bird watchers, and ringers to prevent further thefts this year and go after potential offenders. PC Laura Rowley and PCSO Dave Sadler joined forces with BTO bird ringers Jeremy and Wes to ring and swab the three chicks (two boys and a girl) watched by their protective parents overhead. The DNA samples taken will be added to the national peregrine DNA database. Similarly to humans, peregrine families can be linked by their DNA, and previous or future siblings who are stolen can be identified using this database. This is a new measure that we hope will crack down on the illegal wildlife trade, not just in Surrey but across the country. Successfully swabbed and tagged, these fluffy chicks (with very sharp talons!) were returned safely to the nest site to continue to grow and fledge.

Chief Superintendent Mark Offord is our Force lead for knife crime. As the Force lead for serious violence and knife crime, he said it’s my responsibility to set out how we tackle those who use violence and carry knives for criminal purposes in Surrey. This involves working closely with our operational teams, as well as the Surrey Serious Violence Reduction Partnership, to ensure we tackle not only offending but work to prevent people being drawn into knife crime. Despite our proximity to London, our rate of serious knife crime is less than half the national average with 496 offences in the year leading up to September 2024 (national average is 1,265 offences). While Surrey has low rates of knife crime, we are not complacent. We take robust action against those who carry and use knives criminally in Surrey. If you choose to carry a knife, you can expect to be arrested and charged. We are working hard to increase our knowledge about who is carrying knives, so that we can target them relentlessly. We are also working with partners to understand why people, particularly children, are drawn into carrying knives, so that we can prevent this. Surrey is a safe county. Despite what you may see in the media or online, don’t be driven by fear to carry a knife. Not only are you at risk of arrest, but you increase the risk of being a victim by doing so. I encourage parents to understand what their children do when not at home or when online, look out for changes in their behaviour that may suggest involvement in knife crime. Be aware of their access to kitchen knives and take note if any are missing. 

Last weekend, we proudly welcomed our latest cohort of volunteer police cadets to Surrey Police at their attestation ceremony. Joined by T/Assistant Chief Constable Steven Brownlee, High Sheriff of Surrey Peter Cluff, and Deputy Lieutenant Martin Gerrard, our cadets and their leaders celebrated this exciting milestone surrounded by their family and friends. Congratulations to you all! 

We have been joining other charities and organisations across the country to say a big thank you to the many inspirational people who give up their free time to volunteer for us, as we celebrate National Volunteers Week. Our vibrant volunteering programme includes members of Surrey’s communities from diverse backgrounds who collectively offer their valuable knowledge, skills, and experience to the Force. We are fortunate to have hundreds of committed volunteers within our Volunteer Police Cadet Scheme, Police Support Volunteer Programme and Special Constabulary; collectively our volunteers make a fantastic contribution to our Force and our communities. 

We have welcomed our newest recruits this year who will now begin their training and be soon out policing our communities. One such recruit is Lexie Learoyd who chatted with us about why she joined the police. "Joining the police has always been a pipe dream for me. I studied Psychology and found the forensic psychology classes particularly fascinating. During my studies, I started volunteering for a local charity that helped women who have had found themselves in the criminal justice system. I visited women in custody and could accompany them to court, giving me a small insight into policing and the custodial system. "This confirmed the idea that I would like to have a career in the Police. I am really looking forward to making a positive contribution to Surrey Police and hope that I will be able to make a difference, however big or small, to people that come into contact with the police, through whatever route this may be."