On the front page of the Echo today is a story of a Grandmother who was the subject of a violent attack in Southend. The Police didn’t have any resources to send even though they were phoned twice whilst the attack was in progress.
Hundreds of police are currently helping Basildon Council with an overblown planning dispute.
When the police have to carry out a major operation it requires planning, it disrupts shift-patterns and it takes officers away from their normal work for considerably longer than just the physical duration of the event.
I have great sympathy for Essex Police who are under mounting pressure from government cuts. They are being let down by Conservative politicians in Southend who are still trying to give the impression that police numbers will rise when the reverse is clearly the case. The Conservatives were once the party of law and order. Not any more.
