ESSEX Police Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh has made a series of promises about the future of local policing meetings in Essex. Mr Kavanagh said:
"Consistent and effective contact between communities and their local policing team is crucial. Although there are a number of good local police and community meetings there are many that are poorly attended and not as effective as they could be. Therefore, I have decided to refresh our approach.
"From October 1 my District Commanders are making the following commitments to local communities:
1. We promise local PCSOs will hold a weekly ‘street meet’ on their patch;
2. We promise every district will hold five or six Local Community Meetings (every eight weeks);
3. We promise Local Community Meetings (LCM) will be chaired by a supervisory officer (sergeant or above);
4. We promise every LCM and street meet will be advertised on the Essex Police website in advance;
5. We promise our website will show agreed local priorities as well as the activity taken to address them.
"With shrinking resources I need to make sure my officers can realistically delivery on the important promises we make to local communities. Involving a local Sergeant or Inspector in community meetings will ensure issues are dealt with promptly and that results are fed back to communities.
"Local community meetings means residents and businesses can work with their local policing team to address matters of concern. I encourage people to come and talk to us. Let us know about the issues that are important to you.”
The new meeting structure will replace routine police attendance at Neighbourhood Action Panels (NAPs). Communities are encouraged to continue to hold NAPs but to bring any issues of concern to the attention of the relevant local community meeting.
Supporting the local community meetings, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) will hold weekly ‘street meets’ on their designated patch. Supermarkets, libraries, shopping centres and other public venues are all locations where these hour-long, informal meetings will be held.
Street meets and LCMs will be advertised in advance on the Essex Police website and via social media. Members of the public are invited to attend the meeting they feel is most appropriate to their concern. There is no need to book a space.
Implementation of the new structure will start on October 1 with an expectation that community meetings and street meets are fully operational across the county by November 1.
To find details of your next local community meeting or street meet visit the Essex Police neighbourhood pages at www.essex.police.uk/my_neighbourhood
