THE number of complaints to Essex Police has increased by 18 per cent in the last year, far higher than the national average of just five per cent. 

The total number of formal complaints to Essex Police went from 1,379 in 2023 to 1,631 in 2024.

The most common complaints to Essex Police were issues such as the timeliness and the quality of investigations, the use of force and detention in police custody, unprofessional attitudes and impolite language.

Essex Police has conceded that in 2024, there was a notable increase in the total number of complaints and the complexity or number of issues raised within those individual complaints. 

The force said the increase in 2024 could at least partially be attributed to complaints being under-reported in past years. Following feedback from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the force calculated its 2024 number of complaints by taking under-reporting into account.

In 2023, Essex's police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) received 80 valid requests for reviews. In 2024, the PFCC received 99 requests for reviews, an increase in demand of nearly 24 per cent.

Of the 59 reviews completed in 2023, nine were upheld and returned to Essex Police with recommendations representing an upheld rate of 15 per cent – in line with other crime commissioners in the east but below the national average of 21 per cent. 

During the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Panel on April 1, the crime commissioner for Essex, Roger Hirst, said: "In terms of how we improve, I think the straightforward answer is to get crime down. That may sound a little simplistic, but actually, it is the really important bit about improving public confidence.

"You can do a lot with communication, but in my view, and this is a view not necessarily universally held, I think the communication needs to come after the success.

"So we are having increasing success whether that is in busting drug gangs taking out cannabis farms, whether it's reducing domestic abuse, whether it is reducing the level of hare coursing and unlawful incursions and major plant agricultural plant theft which are very relevant to areas like Maldon.

"All of that is coming down, and I think we need to communicate that better. There's also the issue of police visibility, and we've just had a good discussion in the media about police visibility in Essex.

"I am delighted that the government is determined that we should increase it, and so am I. We just need to make sure it's funded properly, but we are doing that. So that I think also has a beneficial impact."