Witham MP Priti Patel is campaigning to save Essex Police from being abolished and merged into a larger regional police force. The plans, put forward by the Labour Government, would see local policing put at risk with the County’s priorities potentially being ignored and resources subsumed into other parts of the region. A petition has been launched to oppose the plans while the outcome of as survey conducted by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, Roger Hirst, has shown that nearly 70% of respondents object to the plans. 85% of respondents were also concerned that the plans would lead to “less focus on local policing/community needs”, 79% felt that “police officers will lose local knowledge and personal connection with the communities they serve” and 72% that there would be “fewer visible police patrols in our towns and neighbourhoods.”
Priti, who has Home Secretary invested in the National Police Uplift programme to increase police numbers in Essex and across England and Wales to record levels, said:
“Labour’s plans to abolish Essex Police are wrong. Across the country police numbers have fallen under Labour and mergers will lead to more cuts in local policing. I have worked with Essex Police to increase police numbers and to get more police out in our communities. All this is now at risk with Labour’s plans, which are strongly opposed by the people of Essex.”
