PC Simpson was at Penton Park, Chertsey on 20 January to introduce himself to the residents and listen to any concerns they have.

Former PC, Dave Butters, had served the Surrey community for 33 years before retiring at the end of 2024, but before he left Surrey Police, he had one final request. Dave shares his last ‘Hurrah’ below giving him an everlasting memory of that special day. “33 years ago, I walked into Caterham Police Station to start my first shift as a Police Officer. During my uniform years in the mid 90’s, two of my three children were born, one being my son Ryan. Growing up he only knew me as a Police Officer, so it was no surprise when aged 20, Ryan successfully joined Surrey Police, which was an extremely proud moment for me as his dad. Over the past 9 years, I crossed paths with Ryan on various operations and on occasions along corridors at Reigate and more recently Epsom. During 2024, I decided it was time to call it a day and retire at the end of the year, I’d spent the 90’s in uniform, but the past 25 years in plain clothes, however one thing started to play on my mind - could I crew up with my son Ryan, who was now an experienced uniformed Officer based out of Epsom and have one last ‘hurrah’ working alongside my son for a day, something I had never experienced before and would never have the opportunity again. After getting the all clear I went about planning the surprise, so I arranged for Ryans duties to show him as having a ‘work experience’ for the day, unbeknown to him that was going to be me! The day arrived and I walked into the station wearing uniform to see Ryan standing there with a ‘OMG’ facial expression. “What are you doing here” he said still bemused. I said, “you have work experience today,” he replied “yes, it’s not you is it,” I smiled at which point the penny dropped. We started the day doing some taskings Ryan had been allocated and then moved onto high visibility patrols in a marked police vehicle around the wider Epsom area. I then told him to get his hat as we headed into Epsom Town Centre on foot patrol. As we entered the High Street, I was instantly taken back to the mid 90’s. We proceeded to walk around the town centre and wider area where we had numerous positive comments from the public, saying it was nice seeing officers in the town, waves, thumbs up, nods and smiles. Watching and being around Ryan whilst he conducted his duties gave me an immense feeling of pride, knowing that as I leave the organisation, my son is a stronger, more competent, more skilled and better rounded officer than I ever was, so what started out as a last hurrah for me, resulted in a new awareness and respect for what modern young Police Officers have now become. I am so glad I went out with Ryan for one last shift, a memory that I will always now have.”

Last Friday and Saturday, over 50 officers were back out dedicated to combating rural crime. This time Surrey Police were joined by the Rural Crime teams from our neighbouring forces. In turn this provided a range of specialist capability including drone teams and stolen vehicle examiners. Surrey Police also directly involved members of the rural community in the operation by having direct communication channels with them, where they could feed in suspicious activity direct to officers. Over the two days over 30+ farms or other rural locations were visited in person by our Safer Neighbourhood Teams alongside widespread proactive marked and unmarked patrols. This resulted in:

• 70+ vehicles stopped 

• 4 vehicles seized 

• 1 arrest for drug driving 

• 1 Tipper lorry driver stopped for carrying suspected illegal waste which we believe they intended to fly tip that night. They have been reported to the local authority to consider prosecution for waste offences.

• Local engagement with rural communities to answer questions, offer crime prevention advice and gather intelligence about criminality in their areas.

Chief Inspector Chris Tinney, rural crime lead for Surrey Police, said; “In September I reassured our rural community that our commitment to rural crime was here to stay and would become a staple part of our efforts to combat rural crime. “Last weekend we built on the success of the previous operation through the support of our wider regional colleagues. Our focus was to engage with and protect this community especially given its critical importance for UK food security. “I want to thank in particular the members of public who supported us during the operation as well as Hampshire Constabulary, Sussex Police and Thames Valley Police.”

Last week, our team in Surrey played a key role in a major multi-force operation to disrupt criminal activity across the South East. 15 arrests for theft, knife possession, drug supply, dangerous driving, and fraud, 5 vehicles seized, along with 2 weapons and a significant amount of drugs, including cocaine and heroin. A total of 110 arrests were made across the region last week in a multi-force operation led by Hertfordshire Constabulary. The pro-active multi-force policing operation aimed to target criminals utilising the road and rail networks to carry out acquisitive crime linked to drug supply. During the 72-hour long operation, officers in Hertfordshire made 15 arrests, seized five weapons, £5,000 in cash, and two vehicles. There were also 14 occasions where drugs were seized by officers. The operation saw specialist teams deployed from across the force, with officers from the Operation Scorpion team, the Operational Support Group (OSG), vehicle intercept teams, intelligence officers. There was also support from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Dog Unit and OSG’s drones were utilised. Nine other forces – Surrey, Thames Valley, Metropolitan Police, Essex, Kent, Bedfordshire, Sussex, City of London and the British Transport Police also took part in the operation, which was led by Hertfordshire Constabulary, using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and intelligence to target vehicles linked to crime. Inspector Paul Stanbridge, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Operational Support Group, said: “A dedicated team of officers from multiple teams and units across the organisation have worked together as part of this strategic operation, targeting criminals who intend on committing crime both in Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas. “Our goal has been to intercept as many criminals as we can, and hopefully in time bring them to justice. We hope that the results send a reassuring message out to the people of Hertfordshire. “Our work to disrupt this kind of criminality continues all year round, and I would like to say a big thank you to members of the public across the county for the intelligence reports we receive every day. You are playing a vital role in helping us to tackle crime and your assistance is greatly appreciated." 

A man appeared in court on 21 January, after being charged with child cruelty following reports of a concern for safety in Ashford on Thursday 16 January. Officers were called to an address on Woodthorpe Road at 1.15pm, where a two-year-old child was found at the address with injuries. A woman in her 20s was also found at the scene with very serious injuries and was sadly pronounced deceased shortly afterwards. The two-year-old child was taken to hospital but has since been discharged and is being cared for. Milad Ghafari, 34, (26/08/1990), of Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, appeared at Guildford Magistrates’ Court after being charged with child cruelty. He has been remanded in custody and is next due to appear at Guildford Crown Court on 20 February 2025. An investigation, led by the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, remains ongoing to establish the circumstances which led to the woman’s death. 

A man has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of non-recent sexual offences against children while he was working at a children's home in Woking. Clive Peter Niblett, 73 (DOB 14/5/1950), was jailed for 12 years at Guildford Crown Court on Friday 17 January, after being found guilty of 13 charges including two counts of indecency with a child, nine counts of indecent assault, one count of buggery and one count of attempt buggery. Niblett committed the offences, involving five victims aged 10-15 years at the time, while he was working at Palmerston House children’s home in Romsey Hampshire, in the mid-1970s, and as the live-in manager at the Burbank Children’s School in Woking in the late 1970s. His offending came to light after he pleaded guilty in 2016 to sexual offences against a young boy between while he was working at Burbank and a second young boy while he was working at Palmerston House. He was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for six offences of indecent assault on a male under the age of 14, buggery, and attempted buggery, which took place between 29 April 1975 and 30 April 1976. Compensation claims made by the two victims led to further victims coming forward, and an investigation was carried out into allegations made by five of these victims when they were at Burbank and Palmerston House between 1975 and 1983. One of the victims was between nine and 10 years old when he was targeted by Niblett, with the other victims aged between 13 and 15 years old. He would ply them with gifts, including drinks, sweets and cigarettes, before sexually abusing them. Describing the impact Niblett's abuse had on him, one of the victims said: “I stand before you, a 58-year-old man whose life was irrevocably altered in childhood. The innocence of my youth was not lost; it was stolen, stolen by a man who wielded his authority as a weapon against the most vulnerable.” Acting Detective Inspector Ross Linaker from Surrey Police’s Complex Abuse Unit, which investigated the case, said: “Niblett's offending has deeply affected his victims and I hope that the fact he has finally been brought to justice will bring them some peace.

The courage of a woman who spoke out about being the victim of domestic abuse has resulted in the perpetrator being imprisoned for 27 months when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court earlier this month. Officers were called to an address in Woking on 3 May 2024 following reports that a woman had been assaulted and threatened with a knife. Nasaruddin Biror, 20 (DOB 18/09/2004), of no fixed address, was arrested on suspicion of two assaults and possession of a bladed article on 25 May 2024. Initially, the victim/survivor did not want to support the prosecution, but officers went back to see her and managed to persuade her otherwise. In her witness statement, she said she had not been staying at her home address since the incident because she did not like staying there alone. She also said she was scared to return home because she was “worried” that Biror would turn up and hurt her, and that she had been having problems sleeping due to her anxiety about what had happened. Investigating officer Detective Constable Claire Phillips said: “The victim’s bravery in coming forward has resulted in Biror being sent to prison where he will no longer be a threat to her. Her bravery in giving evidence must be commended, and we would urge anyone who is the victim of domestic abuse to report it to us straightaway – you will be believed, and you will be supported.” Biror was also found guilty of three separate assaults against police officers and staff and four counts of fraud relating to fraudulently using a bank card.

Members of a county line drugs gang have been handed sentences totalling 34 years for their part in bringing illegal drugs into West Surrey and Hampshire. It concludes months of investigation by officers into the network which was being operated from the Stratford area. Back in March 2023, police executed a series of warrants at addresses across London, Surrey and Hampshire resulting in nine people being subsequently charged and remanded. ‘County Lines’ are so called because they involve transporting illegal drugs from one area to another, often across police boundaries, using dedicated mobile phone lines or ‘deal lines’. Often the areas these drugs are taken to see an increase in levels of violence or other crimes because of the problems drugs and drug addiction bring. After being presented with a body of evidence against them, all those charged eventually pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs namely Crack Cocaine and Heroin. They have all now been sentenced at court with the final two appearing on 17 January 2025. Hearings will now be looked at under the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize any assets gained as a result of criminal activity. PC Ed Bush, said: “All these individuals are part of a system that preys on the vulnerable and brings nothing but misery to our communities. Every day, we are working to identify who they are and disrupt their networks and I hope this case shows that it doesn’t matter how long it takes – we will find you. “If you have information about someone you suspect is involved in the supply of illegal drugs or are concerned about someone vulnerable to exploitation by these gangs please contact us.”

• Ross Bannister, 30 (DOB: 10/02/94) from Greenwich, was sentenced to nine years and four months for being Concerned in the Supply of Class A drugs and a further 27 months for possession of criminal property to run concurrently.

• Billy Cross, 25 (DOB: 29/06/99) from Basildon, was sentenced to nine years and four months for being Concerned in the supply of Class A Drugs and 15 months for possession of criminal property to run concurrently.

• Abraham Musoke, 29 (DOB: 08/10/95) from Bexley in London, who acted as a courier in the network, was given six years and nine months.

• Local controllers Paul Skabarntsky 29 (DOB: 29/01/95) of no fixed address and Jamie Smith, 31 (DOB: 23/12/93), from Greenwich, each received three years and one month whilst Liam Neylon, 27, (DOB: 07/12/97) from Farnham, received three years and nine months for offences in Surrey and a further two and half years for similar offending in Suffolk.

• Three ‘runners’, Noella Facer 50 (DOB: 07/12/74) from Farnborough, Hampshire, Dean Pearce 28 (DOB: 18/01/97) from Alton, Hampshire, and Kerry Pearce, 59 (DOB: 11/08/65) from Alton, Hampshire, each received two-year suspended sentences.

Have you got footage from a smart doorbell or CCTV showing suspicious activity at your property?  We understand that sometimes this type of footage might get uploaded to community groups on social media. However, sending the footage to us via our Suspicious Activity Portal will help us to identify offenders operating in the area. It will potentially link individuals to offences that have occurred elsewhere such as burglaries, thefts of vehicles and catalytic converters. We may not be able to identify every person in a piece of footage, especially if they have a face covering, but every clip feeds into our understanding of the bigger crime picture in your area. 

Suspicious Activity Portal | Surrey Police

Would you know how to spot a cannabis factory? Cannabis factories can be hidden away behind any door, in any town. Common signs to spot include:

• Curtains constantly drawn, even during hot weather

• Condensation on windows – cannabis needs greenhouse-like conditions to grow

• Strong odours coming from the property – cannabis has a potent smell and the plants may smell stronger in the final weeks of growth

• Occupants seen only rarely or never at all

• Visitors at odd times of the day and night

• Excessive security measures like extra locks or window grilles

• Lots of plant growing equipment such as soil, fertiliser, and garden waste being taken in and out of the property

• Buzz of ventilation – a constant noise that could be fans ventilating the property (can you hear it in this video?)

• Very high electricity bill (for landlords)

Sound familiar?

If reading this list has reminded you of a house or flat or building near you, then it’s possible they could be involved in the cultivation and supply of cannabis – let us know at Cannabis Factories