TODAY [Wednesday 29th January], Essex’s Labour MPs responded to Roger Hirst’s, Essex Police Fire and Crime Commissioner, announcement that he is planning on cutting all 99 Police and Community Safety Officers (PCSOs) across Essex.
Labour’s MPs across Essex, Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford), David Burton Sampson (Southend West and Leigh), Pam Cox (Colchester), Jen Craft (Thurrock), and Chris Vince (Harlow) have criticised Roger Hirst’s political decision to remove PCSOs from our streets rather than use the funding available to support neighbourhood policing.
Hirst’s decision to cut all 99 PCSOs in Essex comes despite an additional £24.9m in funding being given to Essex Police by the new Labour Government.
The additional funding brings the total funding available to Essex Police, from the national Government, to £431.1 million for 2025-26. The additional funding for Essex Police is part of an extra £1bn in the national Policing Budget, announced by the new Labour Government.
Labour’s new Government is investing £100m to kickstart the delivery of the 13,000 new frontline policing staff that were promised in our manifesto. This is alongside an increase of the Officer Maintenance Grant and a commitment to cover the cost of increased employer National Insurance Contributions for policing staff.
Police and Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners also have the ability to increase police precept to £14 for a Band D property in 2025-26 to cover any additional funding they require.
Despite the additional funding made available to Essex Police, Roger Hirst has made the decision to cut neighbourhood policing at a time of rising distrust of policing.
Labour’s MPs in Essex are, therefore, calling on Roger Hirst to reverse his decision and to meet with them to discuss options for moving forward.
