Neighbourhood crime may be down, but it is not yet beaten. Burglary, car theft, drug dealing, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour (ASB) disrupt people’s lives. Essex Police have introduced Town Centre Teams, have boosted Community Policing Teams and built the Rural Engagement Team and Business Crime Teams. We must make sure these units are ringfenced and out on patrol in our communities.
Targeted hotspot patrols are proven to reduce ASB and serious violent crime (SV), and reduce harm. In 2024 we will invest £1.6m in 15 ASB and 15 SV hotspots. These will receive frequent 15-30 minute foot patrols, from Police and from Council enforcement officers, delivering 30,000 more hours of visible policing a year. So far our hotspot interventions have helped reduce ASB by 70% and high harm crime by 38% from their peaks.
Dealing with known offenders prevents them from perpetrating more crime, and we will strengthen our targeted offender management.
Safer Streets investment in CCTV, better lighting and landscaping, signposting and local community support groups make both our town centres and isolated and residential areas much safer and available for more people to use. So far we have invested £4m in these schemes, plus £1.7m match funding from local partners, and I have set aside a further £3m for new schemes next year. The work of voluntary groups such as the Street Pastors is invaluable in helping vulnerable people and reducing harm on our streets, and we will continue to support them.
Working with local councils and other agencies through our Community Safety Partnerships we must target our resources where they will make the most difference locally. And we must invest more in the force control room, especially the 101 non-emergency call system, to make sure victims get a better service, not only in the time taken to answer the call, but in the quality of the service they receive. We must also ensure that victims receive more and better feedback on how their crime is being handled, and with what success.
Modern policing knows how to deal with neighbourhood crime; I will make sure Essex Police have an unrelenting focus on getting it down. Neighbourhood Policing will be strengthened as more of our new officers complete their training and can be deployed in our communities. Now we have the resources, we must ringfence our Town Centre Teams and Community Policing Teams and make sure they are able to crack down on burglary, on car theft and on shoplifting, and keep our residents safe in each of our communities. Our Rural Engagement Team must be strengthened further to support our isolated communities and make sure our successes in reducing unlawful encampments, hare coursing and equipment theft are not eroded. I will ensure that Police and Fire & Rescue continue to protect those in rural areas and keep businesses safer and free from crime.
