A SENIOR police officer who lives on Canvey has defended his comments that social media increases the fear of crime.

In an interview with the Echo, Fergus Caulfield, acting chief inspector at Castle Point and Rochford Local Policing and Partnership Team, spoke out about the use of Facebook and Twitter to draw attention to crime, amid an increase in burglaries on the island.

In light of people turning to a number of community-based Facebook sites to post details about crimes and suspicious activity, he said that the constant reporting of crime does increase fear of it.

However a concerned resident wrote to him, asking him to clarify his comments and he wrote a detailed response which has been passed to the Echo.

Insp Ferguson said: “As a Canvey resident I have a keen interest in reducing crime and keeping people informed as much as possible.

“I did not say social media should not be used to inform residents of crime, and I regularly look at local Facebook crime pages.

“I am sure you are aware that our crime recording does not come from social media, it comes from victims contacting us directly, so my plea is always that if you place something on social media that can help us prevent or solve crime, let us know - don’t just post it on social media.”

He continued that any suggestion that his comments were due to him wanting to keep people in the dark about the number of crimes so as to “fiddle the crime figures” was “absurd”.

He said: “While social and other media has many benefits, I do believe that social media can increase the fear of crime and unfortunately on some sites there are a few people whose life seems to revolve around persistently complaining without seeking or helping resolve, and/or creating posts where serious incidents have just occurred - where family members may not have yet been told about what has happened.”

He added that he would “love” to see the keyboard warriors join as Active Citizens, volunteers who help police, but not one person had stepped forward.

To sign up visit essex.police.uk/join-the-police/volunteers/active-citizens/