A TRIO of children have been arrested as part of an investigation into an "epidemic" of robberies in Colchester.
The young people, all boys aged 13, were arrested shortly after 7am today at addresses in the city.
The action comes after the Gazette revealed the city centre has faced a serious spate of robberies throughout the past month.
In each case, items such as e-scooters, money, jewellery and cash were taken, while some reports detail how the victims were assaulted.
Essex Police said it has received a number of robbery reports and stated no victim suffered any serious injuries.
Chief Insp Colin Cox, Colchester district commander, said: “We know there have been concerns across the district, with a number of incidents having taken place where predominantly young people had been threatened and had items stolen.
“There has been a team of officers working in the background collating the specific details of each offence and working hard to link suspects to each offence.
“That work culminated in arrest action this morning.”
Figures reveal there has been a recent spike in robberies in Colchester but the number of incidents have decreased over the past five years.
In the 12 months to May 2019 there were 189 robberies recorded in Colchester, 15 more than in the year to last month.
Anti-social behaviour reports have also fallen from 5,054 in the year to May 2019 to 1,978 in the 12 months to May this year.
Mr Cox continued: “We’ve got officers in Colchester working really hard to keep our community safe by preventing crime and catching those who commit crime.
“In Colchester, we have a really strong community safety partnership in place through which I regularly update our partners and share information.
“I can assure our residents that all concerns presented to us are taken seriously and acted upon.”
In response to the Gazette’s report last week, Insp Stuart Austin said: “Colchester does remain a really safe place to live, work or visit.”
He added: “We also rely on the intelligence we receive from the people of Colchester, and would urge anyone with information to come forward.”
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