5:00pm Tuesday 16th March 2010
POLICE have moved to reassure the public there isn’t a drugs problem in an area of Southend.
Shopowners had called for more officers to be deployed in Southchurch Road, because of worries about dealers operating there and antisocial behaviour.
The issue was raised at a meeting of the Milton Neighbourhood Action Panel leading police to set it as a priority to tackle over the next two months.
But PC Stan Ferris, neighbourhood specialist officer for Milton, said no recent drug offences had taken place and crime in general had fallen by 9.4 per cent.
There were 765 incidents reported bet- ween November 2008 and January 2009, down to 693 in the same period this year.
PC Ferris said: “In February there were no drug crimes reported to the police, and there’s nobody convicted of any crime in relation to drugs on the streets. We have done some drugs raids, one in particular in Holland Road, where four people were arrested and are on bail.”
Sgt Paul Ahmed, of Southend Central’s neighbourhood policing team, said uniformed officers had not spotted any drug-related problems, but they needed residents to call if they see anything suspicious themselves.
He said: “We are very keen to deal with any drug-related issues, but we need to know, and need the public’s support.”
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