RESIDENTS and councillors are angry an important community police meeting is likely to be scrapped as part of cuts to the force.

There are plans to scrap Wickford’s Local Community Meeting, which sees residents meet with Police Community Support Officers onamonthly basis to discuss safety concerns, as part of police cutbacks revealed earlier this month.

Under the proposals, no PCSOs will be based in Wickford. Instead just seven will be based across the Basildon Borough. Wickford’s final community meeting took place last night, and concern has spread about the absence of a permanent police team in the town.

David Harrison, Ukip councillor for Wickford Park, believes their role is crucial in making the community feel safe.

He said: “With there no longer being PSCOs based here, it means police presence here is reduced to zero basically.

“Residents do feel better having a police presence at street level. Lots of good work has been done off the back of those meetings and it’s very frustrating the look to be disappearing.

“I can’t see how the new system of basing them across the borough will ever be manageable.”

Joanne Lane, 44, a community officer at Hilltop Junior School, says the meetings have helped to solve issues such as parking, firework safety and antisocial behaviour.

She said: “It’s extremely worrying, as the PSCOs and the meetings specifically are so important to the community.

“I’ve attended them regularly and they have provided the perfect opportunity for us to raise concerns and provide that important link. As far as we are concerned at Hilltop, the children know and trust the team.

“Now we’ll have to phone 101, and are likely to get through to somebody who doesn’t really know the area and our concerns.”

 

Essex Police forced to make sweeping cuts

EARLIER this month, Essex Police announced huge cuts to the service in order to save cash.

The force is anticipating cuts of around £63million by 2019-20, on an annual budget of around £262million.

Around 83 per cent of the budget is spent on the salaries of police officers, PCSOs and police staff.

It is proposed the number of PCSO posts across the county will be slashed from 250 to 60.

Essex Police say the cuts have been brought in to make police property estate fit for the future, to improve public contact between police and the communities served and the efficiency and overall effectiveness of policing.

A new headquarters will also be built as part of the plans.

Police also confirmed that front counters, open to the public from 9am to 5pm, will be retained in Grays, Basildon, Southend, Harlow, Chelmsford, Maldon, Saffron Walden, Braintree, Colchester and Clacton.