Six more front counters will close in April

SIX more Essex Police station front counters are due to close to the public on 1 April as part of a force cost-cutting exercise.

A total of 15 front counters were scheduled to close before April 2016, and eight of those have already been shut down.

South Ockendon, Brentwood, Loughton, Epping, Rayleigh and Canvey are the remaining counters to be closed to make way for what the force calls a “fit for purpose” police estate.

The closures should provide £60 million in savings by 2020.

Customer contact administrator posts across the county have also been reduced from 98 to 36.

Mark Smith, Chairman of Essex Police Federation, said: “Our priority at the moment is police officer numbers, it’s keeping officers on the ground responding to 999 calls, in the communities, in the neighbourhoods, it’s actually having the officers out there.

“If we have to move forward with technology and the way that people report things, then so be it.

“We are where we are with the cuts and our priority, I think, should be, at the moment, numbers of police officers, number of support staff, and those actually doing the job.”

Essex Police and Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston confirmed the proposals in December last year in a bid to “meet the challenges of keeping the county safe”.

A two-month study determined which front counters were the most popular with the public.

Billericay, Pitsea, Southminster, Harwich, South Woodham Ferrers, Tilbury, Halstead, Witham and Great Dunmow police station front counters have all closed.

Supt Stuart Hooper, from Basildon, has assured residents that the force’s commitment to keep them safe remains its “absolute priority”.

“Our job is to remain at the heart of our communities, but every expensive and outdated building which isn’t well-used by the public means fewer officers on patrol, in places like Billericay and Pitsea, stopping crime and helping vulnerable people,” he said.

“Later this spring residents will be able to do much more online, including reporting crime and lost or found property as well as having access to lots of useful information and services.

“The heritage and mementos linked to the history of these police stations will be preserved for the community.”

Front counters in Grays, Basildon, Harlow, Chelmsford, Braintree, Colchester, Clacton and Maldon are among those to remain open to the public.