“More officers, trained, equipped and deployed, is a proven antidote to crime”

ESSEX Police Federation wants to see more officers on the frontline to combat the rise in crime.

New Office of National Statistics figures show there’s been a rise in public disorder (up 16%) fraud (17%) knife crime (8%) robbery (11%) on last year.

Those figures are set against a drop in officer numbers across England and Wales since 2010.

Essex Police Federation Chairman Steve Taylor said reversing that and getting officers back on the frontline is part of the rising crime solution.

“More officers, suitably trained and equipped and deployed on the street, is a proven antidote to some of that crime. How many people get robbed in the presence of a police officer? How many people get attacked with a knife in the presence of a police officer?” he said.

“It’s significantly less than those who suffer those crimes when there aren’t any police on the streets, when there aren’t any police around. And when there isn’t, the knowledge that there could be a police car driving around the next corner, there could be an officer walking around the next corner,” he said.

Complex crime can also take officers away from tackling more routine incidents he added.

“Some of this crime is complex and detailed in nature. The more complex a matter is, the more officers are away more the frontlines, [because they] are in the office investigating these things behind the scenes because of their complexity.

“So, if we’re going to invest, as we need to, in policing, we need to invest not only in frontline numbers but in investigative support, in other areas, where we can support officers, free them up to get them out and be visible on the streets more frequently than in the back office, investigating complex and detailed crimes.”