The Essex Police website has a lot of stuff here on how they are planning to change how they operate.
The prime aspect of this is that their budget is being cut. Salaries are the biggest budget item, which means cuts in police numbers. One way of doing that is to stop providing a ‘front desk’ service at 21 police stations. Their website says:
It is proposed to close the front counter service desks at the following 21 police stations. Please note that the specific local arrangements for each site – such as a proposal to keep officers working there, or to move the NPT to a nearby fire station or other partner location, or to sell an individual site – are the subject of a separate Police Authority ratification process, which should conclude by late September.
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West Mersea – Colchester district
Wivenhoe ? Colchester district
Copford ? Colchester district
Ipswich Road ? Colchester district
Mistley ? Tendring district
Brightlingsea ? Tendring district
Walton ? Tendring district
Thorpe-le-Soken ? Tendring district
Great Yeldham ? Braintree district
Stansted Mountfitchet ? Uttlesford district
Hatfield Heath ? Uttlesford district
Moulsham Lodge ? Chelmsford district
Leigh ? Southend unitary authority
Shoebury ? Southend unitary authority
Rochford ? Rochford district
South Benfleet ? Castle Point district
Corringham ? Thurrock unitary authority
Wickford ? Basildon district
Laindon ? Basildon district
Waltham Abbey ? Epping Forest district
Ongar ? Epping Forest district
As you can see, the list includes Leigh, Shoebury, Rochford , South Benfleet and Wickford.
The opening hours of the front desks at other police stations are being scaled back – so that Rayleigh’s hours will be 8 am to midnight, 7 days a week. (instead of 24 hours a day).
This will be seen as a retrograde step by many people, although the police are keen to point out that they are still a 24 hour service, and , for example, Rayleigh police station will be staffed 24 hours per day.
Neighbourhood policing is going to come out of the review pretty much intact. On the positive side , we may see an improvement in how patrol cars are organised- they aren’t going to be confined to particular areas any more. The idea is to have ‘borderless’ policing, So for example, if there’s an incident in Rawreth and the nearest police car is in Wickford, that car can attend, instead of waiting for one to be available from Rayleigh.