A FORMER Southend police commander has blasted today’s police tactics and said bobbies-on-the-beat are needed back at the heart of communities.

Mick Thwaites was a police officer for 37 years and rose to the rank of Chief Superintendent and divisional commander of Southend.

Mr Thwaites has said the town is missing the days of community policing.

He added: “This is not an issue of performance – the cops we do have do a great job – this is about whether we have got the right leadership in terms of the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner and going back further, the austerity cuts.

“The big thing for me is stepping away from community policing. Those leading the force think it’s not an important issue, but that’s rubbish.Community policing ensures cops are out there connecting with the public and collecting vital intelligence.

“On top of that, when you’re bringing people before the courts, you will not have those important witnesses if you are not out there gaining the trust and connection with the public.

“The argument they are no longer needed shows a misunderstanding of the relationship between the police and the public.”

The town has seen a recent spike in violent crime with a number of stabbings and knife-point robberies taking place across the borough.

Southend is set to get 15 new officers as part of the batch of 150 to be put in place across Essex early next year, but Mr Thwaites feels this will not do the job.

He said: “It’s like sticking your finger in a dyke. They’ve already lost more officers beyond that. Once rest days and leave as well as other issues are taken into account, these 15 extra officers drift away. We need a significant boost.

“There’s clearly been a spike in crime and people are saying it’s spilling from London but the main issue is it doesn’t matter where it’s coming from – it’s impacting the way people feel.

“Even if it’s just a perceived spike, you’ve got to respond to it. People say it’s drug-related and they’re known to each other but the fact is it’s having an impact on where people are choosing to go and we can’t have that.”

Mick says the independents “have a long way to go” if they want to bring back a Southend borough police force but said it is the conversation that’s important.“The point they are making is that Southend needs to be resourced to the level where local cops can do their jobs and feel less vulnerable than they probably do.

“We need to get back the link between the police and the local community. It’s simple strategic problem solving but tragically, because of a lack of resources, we seem more reactive than proactive.”