Community safety partners come together to share the many ways residents are being made safer in Essex
Posted Friday 8th March
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Essex, hosted an audience of 250 invited guests at the Community Safety Conference.
The Expo, held last week at Boreham House, Chelmsford, brought together community safety partners, including Essex Police, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, the Violence and Vulnerability Unit, charities, community groups and council partners.
Among the speakers were Anna Firth, MP for Southend West, spoken word artist and youth worker Quinton Green and Julie Taylor, a bereaved grandmother fighting to protect people in Essex from knife crime.
Jane Gardner, Deputy PFCC, opened the event and said: “It is a really great opportunity today to celebrate what we have all collectively done. We have done an awful lot.
“Since 2016, it is phenomenal the distance we have travelled together in terms of providing services to the people of Essex.
“It is important that we showcase what is going on across our beautiful county.”
The event was an opportunity to demonstrate how the PFCC is working with partners to make communities in Essex safer.
Mr Hirst said: “We all know how important partnership is. We can make a difference to the section of people’s lives that we deal with with our different agencies. If we want to help people to have more fulfilling and more happy lives, it is by working together that we really do that.
“We are here today to see if we can get more strings to tie our net together for the support of the people in our communities.”
Chief Constable BJ Harrington outlined the many areas where crime is dropping across the county, saying “it has been a tough year for criminals in Essex”.
He told how there were 9,470 fewer crimes in 2023 compared to 2022, a drop of six per cent – with antisocial behaviour, burglary, violence against women and girls, the most serious and violent offences and sexual offences reducing in that time.
Rick Hylton, Chief Fire Officer, praised the attendees, saying it was because of them that things were moving in the right direction in Essex.
He told how his teams are working to prevent residents from having the “worst day of their lives” and removing the need for his “big red trucks” from going out to emergencies.
By using data from various partners, the fire service is working to establish the most vulnerable people in the county, stepping in to educate and advise on how to avoid falling victim to house fires or road incidents.
Delegates were invited to spend time touring around the Expo part of the event, a selection of stalls set out to share details of more work going on around the county to make communities safer.
There was also an opportunity to hear about work such as Essex Restorative and Mediation Service, Independent Custody Visiting Scheme, cadet leaders and Special Constables during a series of lightning talks.
Over the next few weeks the stories of organisations exhibiting at the Expo will be shared on this website and the PFCC newsletter.
