'Essex Police cuts will have a devastating impact to our community and we should all be concerned'
Essex is set to lose all of its police community support officers (PCSOs), which will have a devastating effect on Essex, and we should all be concerned. Essex Police has announced proposals to make redundant all 99 of its PCSOs and up to 60 civilian staff.
PCSOs are policing staff who play a key role in tackling crime across the county. They don't have powers of arrest nor can carry handcuffs or a baton, but their presence on the streets is crucial. They attend community events, visit schools and directly support their local communities. For those fortunate enough not to be victims of crime, they may be our only interaction with police and are often the noticeable uniform presence in our town centres.
Without the presence of PCSOs, what is there to help inspire confidence that we are safe from crime and that our streets won't end up becoming plagued by criminality on each corner? For children across the county, these first meetings with PCSOs form a basic understanding and recognition of police officers. They are often the eyes and ears of the police, pounding the streets and engaging with communities. These officers inspire confidence and without them that confidence and trust could disappear.
READ MORE: The deserted Essex town filled with boarded up homes where people and shops keep leaving
ALSO READ: Essex restaurant hit by immigration raid has second bid for staff house rejected
As a reporter I have routinely found myself at police cordons. I'll engage with officers at the scene to discuss where I can and can't position myself, and most of them are very accommodating. PCSOs can often also be at these scenes, guarding an area to be investigated so that specialists can carry out the important job of gathering evidence in the hope of catching a criminal.
But if you scrap these support officers, who will pick up their duties and responsibilities? Will police officers who are already over-stretched with mounting piles of work be able to balance enforcing law and order as well as the community roles that PCSOs often engage in? Almost certainly not - and it's pretty clear what will end up being put by the wayside.
It won't necessarily be that police officers will completely scrap all of their community engagement roles and visible policing, but focus will be put on making them more efficient. The attitude will change from proactively spending time in the community to making decisions on when they absolutely must pay a visit to a school or attend a community event.
Now, of course, PCSOs aren't the only ones who are in the firing line to be impacted. Also facing the cut are 65 police staff roles, including some Customer Contact Administrators. Again, these are important members of staff who are based in offices, but they are often people's first point of contact for Essex Police. Their professionalism, composure, and ability to stay calm even in the most difficult situations make sure help can be provided to those most in need.
Police staff is not just individuals in the finance department, administration team or my colleagues over in the press office. It includes intelligence and data analysts, forensics officers, custody detention officers, and many more people whose talents help form a case before they reach court.
These decisions, undoubtedly very difficult ones, come after years of financial struggles for Essex Police. Even if the precept is set at the maximum (£14) there will still be a residual £5m gap in its budget. This comes against a backdrop of the force having already made savings of £62m since 2016/17 and £18m of efficiency savings since 2019, all of which have been reinvested back into frontline policing activity.
However, despite being one of the largest forces in England and Wales, Essex Police is the third worst funded due to how the funding formula works. Despite that it's still the largest the force has ever been in its history with almost 4,000 officers.
The public perception is that crime is worryingly high, but that's not the case in Essex. One crime is obviously one too many, but the existing officers and staff have worked hard to keep communities safe by ensuring knife crime, violence against women and girls, domestic abuse, vehicle crime and antisocial behaviour all decreased in the last year.
In fact, since April 2016, there have also been drops in incidents of antisocial behaviour (72 per cent) and burglary (51 per cent). Essex Police is fighting back against crime despite the financial pressures.
"These cuts will have huge consequences," Laura Heggie, chair of the Essex Police Federation, warns. "Changes to the service we provide to the public are going to have to be made if this goes through; if we lose our PCSOs, we cannot continue to provide the service we do at the moment – there’s no doubt about it."
The force says it is absolutely committed to maintaining its size. More than 3,750 officers currently operate on the frontline, tackling mounds of case work to bring criminals to justice. Despite some suggestions, the force is also committed to keeping its existing police stations open.
The Home Office says they are also committed to keeping communities safe and wants to have an extra 13,000 neighbourhood police officers, community support officers and special constables. They also say Essex Police's funding for 2025/26 will be £431.1m, an increase of up to £24.9m.
“We are committed to maintaining the great progress we have made since 2016 in building Essex Police to be the biggest and strongest it has ever been in terms of officer numbers," Roger Hirst says. "However, we cannot ignore the fact that the government settlement is not enough to meet pay and inflationary pressures. We have to balance the need to respond to local policing and crime priorities with the wider financial pressures on the service and on households. We have to be responsible and balance the books."
That extra £24.9m does not even cover the costs of incremental pay increases decided by the independent body. Around 81 per cent of the force's budget goes towards salaries, while 19 per cent is used on equipment vital for policing. Contrary to some nationwide beliefs, Essex Police is retaining many of their officers - but this has a big financial impact too. It also does not reflect the nearly £1m being spent on kennelling costs keeping dangerous dogs of the streets, or the fact that the force's headquarters - often the pride and centrepiece of an organisation - is a 1970s building that is also feeling the effect of rising heating and lighting costs.
Neighbourhood policing is an area that Essex Police and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner are well aware that residents want to see more of. A recent survey held before Christmas found 85 per cent of people want to see more community policing investment, a figure reflected in the proposed precept rise.
“Yet we can’t place all the financial burden on Essex residents and, despite the very best efforts of the Chief Constable and myself, economies will have to be made," Mr Hirst adds. "We remain committed to delivering the best possible services to the public and to working with government to reform and improve policing in Essex."
This problem seems like one that has no conclusion other than police officers having to pick up the burden of their former colleagues. You can keep squeezing the lemon, but once it's dry, there'll be no more juice. These cuts will have a huge impact on policing in Essex. They should not be underestimated - we should all be concerned.