IT is one of the more unusual tools to be found in the police’s armoury in their efforts to tackle crime.

But eight cut-outs of police officers are set to be deployed across Essex in a bid to deter and confuse would-be criminals.

Essex Police has joined a dozen other police forces in forking out hundreds of pounds for the flat-pack officers. Some are currently being trialled in petrol stations to stop motorists driving off without paying, while they have also been placed in stores to deter shoplifters.

A Freedom of Information Act request reveals the force recently spent £760 on the mock-ups after they were introduced elsewhere in the country in recent years.

Essex Police say some of the cut-outs have not been deployed yet, while others are being trialled in sites across the county.

The response said: “They have been used in petrol stations to reduce making off without payment offences and also in shops to discourage shoplifting.

“They are always used in addition to existing and continuing patrols from Police Officers and PCSOs.”

In October 2007, a cardboard copy of one police constable placed to deter shoplifters in a Derbyshire village was stolen.