Supporting businesses, acting responsibly & welcoming more police and firefighters to Essex #EssexUnites
This week Roger talks about supporting businesses through his work with Essex Chambers of Commerce, the need for us all to continue to act responsibly over the Bank Holiday Weekend and welcoming more police and firefighters to Essex.
Roger has a weekly briefing with Kit Malthouse MP, Minister for Policing and the Fire Service. He also receives regular updates from leaders from Essex Police and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
You can view the message here:
“Hello. I’m Roger Hirst, your Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
Last week the Prime Minister emphasised the need for us all as a country to get back to work where
this is possible, so it has been great to see more businesses opening up and operating safely across
our county. Step by step.
Over the next few weeks I will be joining Essex Chambers of Commerce to hear from businesses
across Essex about how they are doing and what I can do as their Police, Fire and Crime
Commissioner to help their recovery.
I know the new Business Team at Essex Police has been busy supporting businesses
throughout this period either by helping them secure their premises, providing up-to-date fraud and
cyber security advice or simply working with them to make sure they can operate effectively
and safely.
Like our businesses we all need to ensure we can go about our daily lives safely.
Keeping two metres apart, avoiding crowds and making sure we continue to wash our hands.
Wherever possible we should be at home but when we do need to go out, we need to make sure we are careful.
This bank holiday weekend will be a big test for us as a county.
We have done a great job so far in staying alert, controlling the virus and saving lives.
This is not the time to relax.
We know we can only continue to see the gradual return of normality if we all make the right choices, that we take care when we go out, we act responsibly, and we stay alert to the difficult situations where social distancing may not be possible.
Essex Police will, as normal, be out and about over the weekend providing advice and helping
everyone stay safe.
They have done a fabulous job so far and I regularly get comments from the public showing how
appreciative they are, you are!
One of the real pleasures of my job is actually welcoming new people into the force and this Friday
we will be celebrating 80 new police officers passing their training.
Thanks to the extra investment made by you from your Council Tax we are now one of the fastest
growing forces in the country.
At the end of March, we had had 3,293 Officers and more than 500 Special Constables.
And we are on track to be the biggest and strongest force we have ever been.
These 80 extra officers we are celebrating today are a further step towards reaching our target of 3,369 officers by the end of March next year.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all our new recruits and to thank them for joining that policing family.
Also, I would like to welcome 16 new firefighters who completed their training this week.
The latest wholetime squad have completed their training and they were put through their paces on
the intensive course at the fire services college in Gloucestershire and at our own training college at
Witham. They will now take on their roles across the service and begin the development phase of
their career.
In these difficult times it is reassuring to see how many members of our community value the work the emergency services do and how many want to join and be part of the policing team and the fire and rescue service.
Have a great long weekend and remember Stay Alert, Control the Virus and Save Lives. Thank You!”
