The Essex Police Estates Strategy 2023-2028 sets out our shared ambition for the police estate over the next five years. It describes our ongoing commitment to provide a modern, flexible, energy efficient estate which enables officers, staff and volunteers to deliver an effective service and keep our communities safe.
Essex Police Estates Strategy
Much has changed since our first Estates Strategy was published in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic, the continued development of new technologies and social media as well as ever changing community demographics mean the way many crimes are committed, the tactics employed by criminals, the best response to combat those crimes and the way we all live and work continues to evolve.
Pleasingly, over the same period Essex Police continues to grow with police officer numbers now at their highest ever level. This means there are more officers to serve the people of Essex, to protect the vulnerable and to catch criminals, but they all need access to buildings and facilities which enable them to do their work to best effect.
As Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable we are committed to the continued development of police estate to deliver the most efficient and effective policing possible. Some of the changes we need to make may not be popular with everyone, such as the sale of some buildings with historical ties to the community. However, we must recognise as important as police stations are, it is officers, staff and volunteers who keep our communities safe and we have a duty to ensure we get this balance right, developing a modern, flexible, environmentally conscious and affordable policing estate.
Visibility remains a key priority for Essex Police. We have invested in technology such as laptops, smaller hand[1]held computers and body worn video devices to help our officers and staff maximise the time they are able to spend on patrol, supporting victims and targeting criminals as opposed to being reliant on returning to a building. We have invested in our digital services for the public with live chat and on-line crime and incident reporting providing communities across Essex more and more choice about how to interact with the force.
We are thinking carefully about how space can be shared between agencies. For example, ten fire stations are regularly utilised as drop in facilities for operational police officers whilst on their patrols. A new police station will be built at Dovercourt, near Harwich, with construction due to start in 2024. Plans are also being finalised for a shared police and fire fleet workshop.
Our role – as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable – is to provide a police estate that enables officers, staff and volunteers to meet the needs of the people of Essex now and in the future. It is to ensure that we are visible, equipped and enabled to keep the county safe. This strategy is intended to do just that.
Roger Hirst
Police. Fire and Crime Commissioner
