Police say two people who were interviewed during the investigation will face no further action
An allegation of hate crime was first reported to police on Friday, 24 February by a member of the public who’d come across the offensive dolls on display at The White Hart Inn in Argent Street.
In April, the dolls were seized from behind the bar.
Essex Police said “they carried out a thorough investigation, following reasonable lines of enquiry, because the force wants everyone to feel safe in our county.
“The investigation was carried out under Section 4(a) of the Public Order Act 1986 and Section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Officers remained in consistent dialogue with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) throughout as well as working closely with our Thurrock Independent Advisory Group.
“Two people, a man and a woman, were interviewed voluntarily and a file was submitted to the CPS.
“Taking into account all of the evidence gathered by Essex Police and our exhaustive investigation, the CPS have taken the decision that the individuals spoken to in connection with this matter will face no further action. We have updated the person who, rightly, reported their concerns to us.
Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin said: “We investigate crimes reported to us without fear or favour.
“This means we are sometimes faced with allegations of crime where people have strong opposing views, but it is the role of policing to remain impartial and investigate allegations raised to us.
“It’s our job to support victims, investigate allegations of crime, ensuring we follow all reasonable lines of enquiry, interview suspects and witnesses and present the evidence to the CPS to build a case for prosecution.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “The CPS has a duty to make fair and impartial legal decisions based on the evidence provided to us by the police.
“We considered the available evidence and concluded our legal test for a prosecution was not met.”
Neil Woodbridge, Chair of the Thurrock Independent Advisory Group – which is a panel of community members who provide Essex Police with a critical opinion from outside policing on key policing issues affecting communities – said: “Thurrock Independent Advisory Group have worked closely as critical friends of Essex Police.
“We are rightly proud of our relationship and have offered them many challenges over the years.
“When an allegation is made, we need to feel confident that Essex Police will show due diligence and act in upholding the law and indeed be in-tune with the concerns of the community, we feel they routinely do that.
“We feel Essex Police took the correct actions in investigating this matter fully. We thank them for taking all potential hate crimes seriously and we would urge all the communities of Thurrock to report anything they have concerns about. Thurrock is a safe and community minded place to live and work in. We welcome this continuing to be so as we all work together as one community.
“We urge all victims of crime to continue to come forward and to report crimes. We continue to work hard to ensure our county is a safe place to live and work, for all our communities.”
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Tags: Essex, Grays, Thurrock, Essex Police
