New drop in burglary figures announced as Essex Police launches campaign to stop crime before it starts
New figures released by Essex Police show burglary in the county over the last year has dropped by 6% from previous twelve months, meaning there have been 791 fewer burglaries in the county this year. The 6% drop in burglaries is one of the biggest reductions in the country.
The figures were revealed as the force launches its autumn crime prevention campaign. ‘Let’s Talk About Crime’ asks people across Essex to talk about and share safety tips with friends, family and community groups to stop crime before it starts.
Throughout autumn and winter, we will share tips about how to keep themselves safe with advice about:
- Home and garden security
- Vehicle security
- Personal safety
- Rural crime
- Property marking
- Asian gold burglaries
- Drink and drug driving
- Cyber crime
- Domestic abuse
- Winter driving
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Prophet, head of local policing, said: “Essex is a pretty safe county but fear of crime rather than risk of crime drives anxiety and concern in our communities. As clocks go back and mornings and early evenings get darker, we do see increases in some crime types, but our campaign puts more power in residents’ hands to reduce that risk.
“One action – making sure doors are locked or changing that bulb on the security light – can make the difference between being the victim of crime or not. We’ll be working hard across the autumn and winter to fight crime and bring offenders to justice, but we need the public’s help to share our messages and have conversations about crime prevention.
“This campaign is about telling Nan about crime prevention. It’s about giving messages to hairdressers, community groups, football and dance clubs to share with their members and I want to thank everyone who’s taken part in the campaign so far. Our job isn’t possible without that community support, and I’m asking everyone in Essex to have one conversation about crime prevention with someone important to them so that together we make Essex safer.”
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, is also supporting the campaign and is encouraging people to share the messages and pass on advice to friends and families.
He said: “Safe and secure communities are the bedrock on which we build success and wellbeing for all. With the right advice and guidance we can take so many simple steps to prevent crime from happening in the first place. Please do embrace and share these important messages. We need to make it as difficult as possible for criminals to commit crime in our county.”
The force is inviting all Essex residents to support the campaign by downloading social media posts and sharing them on their local community Facebook groups or on their own personal social media channels by using the hashtag #LetsTalkAboutCrime.
Downloadable and printable leaflets to share with friends, family, neighbours and local community groups are also available.
All the campaign resources can be downloaded by visiting: www.essex.police.uk/letstalk
