Local, visible accessible policing remains an important priority within the Police and Crime Plan and is an area where Essex has been leading the country.

Essex Police has been independently recognised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Authorities as an efficient force that offers good value for money. Following a detailed and robust analysis of Essex Police and demand in the county, the Chief Constable and I were convinced that to offer the service the people of Essex wanted from their police and to deal with the increased demand being seen across the country it was necessary to secure additional resources.

We have delivered the funding for more police officers

Taking evidence developed in Essex, I was appointed finance lead for Police and Crime Commissioners across the country and led the work with the Home Office and Treasury to secure additional funding for policing nationally. This work secured the first increase in police funding in seven years.

Over this year alone the benefits of this increase have been shown - 150 officers have been recruited, trained and deployed within communities in Essex already. Numbers are growing and in July Essex Police launched dedicated town centre policing teams in 23 locations across the county. These 58 police constables supported by their sergeants, will become the beating hearts of their communities, tackling the most prominent issues, making for a safer county and stronger relationships with the public and local businesses.

My national role has continued in 2018-2019 and resulted in a further investment in policing. This is being raised through an increase in the local element of council tax during 2019-2020 allowing for public transparency in the process. This will result in a further increase of 215 officers in the total establishment for the force.

It is expected that these officers will be recruited, trained and deployed throughout 2019-2020 with final deployment being completed by April 2020. By this stage, the number of officers will be more than 3200 and at a level that the original analysis showed would provide a sustainable foundation to tackle demand. The Government has also recently pledged a further 20,000 extra police officers for the country. In Essex, that could mean an extra 400 to 500 more officers on top of the 3200. This funding from the Government is good news and will make a huge difference to our county.

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We have provided the investment needed for better technology, saving officers 20 minutes per shift

At the same time as recruiting more officers there is continuing work to improve the efficiency of the Force. We have provided the investment needed for new technology and improvements in systems and processes as part of the Mobile First Programme. This is helping to ensure officers and staff are as effective and efficient as they can be and has saved each officer 28 minutes per shift so far with more savings anticipated. Officers need to be spending as much time as possible out in the communities. Now they are able to complete basic reporting and admin while they are visible and without having to waste time returning to stations. Processes are now as efficient as possible, using technology to free up officers time and allow them to do more of the highly visible work our communities want.

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https://www.essex.pfcc.police.uk/make-a-difference/