FOUR more police front counters will be scrapped in Essex, and nine staff will be made redundant.

The force says front counters at Braintree, Clacton, Basildon, and Harlow Police Stations will be closed from Friday, 11 July.

The force is also closing its counters within the offices of Uttlesford and Maldon councils. 

Essex Police says these stations will not close down and will remain open to staff, officers and other workers. The front counters at Chelmsford, Colchester, Southend and Grays Police Stations will remain open and unchanged. Grays remains the only police presence in Thurock after three other stations in the area were closed and sold.

Police say that the number of people using the front counters across the county to report a new crime and or give information has been falling.

In October 2022, 8,722 people were recorded going to front desks, much higher than the 6,703 people who went to front desks in January this year. Essex Police said that of those 6,703 visitors to its front desks, just 203 were to report a new crime or to give a piece of intelligence.

Basildon Police Station

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper announced the decision to scrap over half of its front desks at a media briefing at police headquarters in Chelmsford.

He said: "I recognise front counters can be symbolic to our communities. But I think the benefit particularly around investing in our local policing teams, the opportunity to be more visible, more local, and have more engagement. I hope through that our communities will be reassured that they will see the officers patrolling and that's what they are telling us as well."

Speaking of the redundancies, ACC Hooper added: "I've got to recognise the staff, because they have provided an absolutely first-class service to our communities, have been through very difficult circumstances in terms of a business case and the impact that has on people.

"They have been through a business case and we have made reductions in our headcounts." 

An Essex Police spokesperson has confirmed that there are no current plans to close any of the police stations affected and stressed the importance of investing in Neighbourhood Policing Teams to ensure officers are more visible and accessible to the public.

ACC Hooper said: "For us it's about providing a neighbourhood policing presence and presence in our communities.

"The decisions we've made are based on where we are at the moment, but it's important to us that we provide policing resource to all communities, it doesn't necessarily need to be fixed around a building."