Communities across Essex don’t have the policing they deserve.

Full statement

Following year-on-year funding cuts from the Conservatives, nationally and locally, Essex became the country’s lowest-funded police force.

Consequently, victims of crime don’t receive the support they rightly expect, and the wider community doesn’t have the reassuring police service it needs.

As Essex’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, I will put our communities at the heart of our strategy. To reduce crime and support victims better, every part of Essex needs to pull together: the police working with local councils, voluntary organisations and residents to tackle crime at the roots, not simply clean up afterwards.

As a Liberal Democrat I believe in actions that actually cut crime, not Conservative slogans that sound tough but actually fail. For almost 10 years Essex Conservatives have cut funding for youth services, completely undermining attempts to divert young people away from gangs, crime and anti-social behaviour.

It’s pointless wasting funds on parts of the criminal justice system that don’t work. Two effective ways to change this are: adopting a public-health-first approach to tackle drug abuse, and using restorative justice to intervene and divert people away from the criminal justice system earlier.

As the PFCC, I will do both of these and invest the savings in police time in increasing community policing.

Our fire service plays a vital role that goes far beyond fighting fires. As the Commissioner, I will ensure fire and policing services work together, including a public education program to reduce hoax calls.

Finally, I recognise that our police officers and firefighters have some of the toughest jobs in public service and will ensure they have the training and support needed to tackle the challenges they face every day.