Rebecca Harris met with Chief Inspector David Miles, District Commander for Castle Point & Rochford to discuss their work in Castle Point. Rebecca was also able to raise issues and concerns to the Chief Inspector that Castle Point residents have voiced to her.

Rebecca was glad to hear that the Chief Constable is set to recruit a further 200 officers in Essex this year, (2022-23) which will take the Essex Police force up to 3,755 officers by March 2023 the largest it’s ever been.

Rebecca Harris MP said:

“I was pleased to hear about the work the police are doing in Essex tackling gangs and serious violence, while protecting children and vulnerable people from harm. They have made great progress on County Lines, with a number of arrests made.  

It is great to see these new recruits joining Essex Police, they will be helping to cut crime and anti-social behaviour on our streets.”

These extra officers will continue to build on the hard work Essex Police are doing to tackle crime and will offer reassurance for local residents and businesses that they have the support of the police when they need it. Of those 200 extra officers:

• 78 will concentrate on crime prevention work and being visible in communities including 51 officers in town centre teams and 10 in community policing teams
• 68 will be focused on tackling violence in all forms including violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and drug-driven violence
• 44 will focus on investigating crime and building a more professional force
• 10 will support the Regional Organised Crime Unit
• There will also be more than 70 police staff roles supporting the areas above.

The first job of any Government is to keep its people safe, which is why the Government has made it our absolute priority to get more police on our streets, cut crime and protect the public. The Government is boosting police funding by £1.1 billion this year – taking total funding up to £16.9 billion for 2022-23.

Rebecca has also encouraged Essex Police to bid for a share of the £150 million funding that will be made available in the fourth round of the  Safer Streets Fund. The fourth round will run over the next three financial years for police and crime commissioners and local authorities across England and Wales, as well as certain civil society organisations. This is on top of the £70 million already committed by the Government to the Safer Streets Fund. The latest round of the fund targets neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls and – for the first time – anti-social behaviour.

The Safer Streets Fund builds on our existing measures to keep our streets safe from the Conservative Government, including: more than 11,000 police officers recruited across England and Wales, investing £17 billion in the police, and targeted stop and search powers to tackle crime and protect communities.