Policing Public Meeting

LOCAL residents are being given a vital opportunity to have their say on the future of policing in Essex at a major public meeting in Leigh on Monday 3rd August.
Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) Roger Hirst will attend the meeting to listen to residents’ concerns and answer questions about the Government’s plans to replace local police forces with much larger regional “mega-forces”.
The meeting has been organised by former Southend West and Leigh MP Anna Firth and local Councillor, Coun Owen Cartey, aims to ensure local people understand the proposed changes and have the opportunity to make their views heard before decisions are taken.
In January, the Labour Government announced plans to reduce the current 43 police forces in England and Wales to around 12 larger regional forces. Under these proposals, Essex Police could be merged with neighbouring forces to create a huge force covering the entire Eastern Region.
For residents in Southend, this could mean policing decisions being taken from as far away as Norwich.
Essex Police is one of the oldest, largest and most successful police forces in the country. More than 4,000 warranted officers serve almost 2 million people across the county, tackling crime through strong local knowledge and community relationships.
Anna Firth said: “Many people are completely unaware of the scale of the changes being proposed.
“This is one of the biggest changes to policing in generations and it is vital that residents understand what is being planned and have the chance to ask questions.”
Coun Owen Cartey said: “The Government are committed to an overhaul of policing in Essex as we know it.
“There is a real danger that policing decisions will move away from local communities like ours in Southend and instead priorities will be decided at a regional level, far removed from a seaside area like ours with unique needs.
“Already many residents are concerned with the direction of crime in our City. We absolutely deserve the opportunity to question this decision and request the Labour Government changes its mind.
“Residents will want to know what impact these changes will have on visible policing on the seafront, dealing with the high number of car thefts across Leigh-on-Sea, and stamping out anti-social behaviour.
“I cannot see how spending vast sums basing our police force further away will achieve any of those things – which should be our focus.”
Concerns have also been raised about the experience of larger police structures elsewhere. In Scotland, where local forces were merged into a single national force, Police Scotland has faced significant financial pressures, falling public confidence and concerns about reduced local visibility.
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners for England and Wales has also warned that there is no evidence that larger “super-forces” deliver better outcomes for victims, reduce crime more effectively or make communities safer. It has warned that mergers could be costly, disruptive and weaken local accountability.
Ms Firth added: “For communities like Southend, these mergers risk meaning fewer investigations, fewer crimes solved and fewer officers visible on our streets.
“With policing, big is not better. There is no doubt that local knowledge saves lives and helps prevent crime. Rather then spending millions and millions of pounds on a re-organisation dreamt up in Whitehall, the new Burnham Government should be giving that money to Essex Police to help them better tackle the problems we experience along the sea-front right now”.
Ms Firth also raised concerns that the proposed changes could also mean Essex losing its own Chief Constable, its own police identity and the direct democratic link between local council taxpayers and local policing priorities.
Coun James Courtenay, Leader of the Opposition on Southend City Council, will say: “As a former police officer myself, I know the advantages of being in a big police force, but also the real need for local neighbourhood policing.
“Essex Police gets this just about right – already covering a large area, being one of the largest police forces in the UK, but also has local accountability at a senior level. If there are problems I can contact the Chief Constable or one of his Chief Officers who are solely focused on Essex.
“We have enough problems in Southend over the summer holidays and bank holiday weekends. If we had a Chief Constable worrying about Great Yarmouth and all the coastal towns in between, as well as all the city centres across multiple counties, is Southend really going to get the attention it so desperately needs and deserves?
“I say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The new Burnham government needs to bin these plans pronto, and redistribute the cash wasted on these sort of consultations towards better funding our existing police forces!”
Roger Hirst, Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, shares concerns about the potential impact of these reforms on Southend: “The Government wants to radically change the way communities like Southend are policed in the future.
“Essex Police could be merged into a single force covering the entire Eastern Region. The risk is clear – the local connection between police officers and the communities they serve could be lost for good.”
Roger Hirst added: “I urge all residents to come to the Leigh Community Centre on 3rd August, listen to what is proposed and have your say on these once-in-a-generation changes.”
Residents are encouraged to attend, ask questions and make their views heard. The meeting will take place on Monday 3rd August 2026 Doors open: 6.00 pm Meeting starts: 6.30 pm at Leigh Community Centre, Room 4, Elm Road, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 1SP.

Sitting Southend West and Leigh MP, David Burton-Sampson said: “I am concerned that this meeting is appearing to be an official exercise when it is nothing more than a Conservative Party-political campaign from the former Tory MP and the Conservative Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
“We have received no invitation to join the discussion, neither have we been given the curtesy of a notification that it is happening.
“People need to be aware that this is not the proper forum for debate, and I would remind people of the Conservatives’ record on policing and crime, which slashed neighbourhood policing and officer numbers and by the time they left office more than half of the public said they never saw a bobby on the beat.
“On the Tories’ watch, the number of PCSOs halved and the number of Special Constables plummeted by two-thirds, whilst shoplifting and street crime spiralled out of control as the police would not attend an incident if the value of shoplifting was below £200.
“The Labour Government is restoring the vital link between police forces and local communities, ensuring that officers are visible and present in their local areas with a named officer for each area, cracking down on crimes like antisocial behaviour, shoplifting and off-road biking.
“Under the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, here in Southend we have 11 new neighbourhood officers helping crack down on the blight of antisocial behaviour and street crime. A far cry from the record of Roger Hirst who attempted to cut all PCSOs last year because of poorly managed budgets, leading to the Labour Government needing to step in to save them.
“Our new Crime and Policing Bill has introduced a suite of new powers for the police to crack down on local crimes including Respect Orders to deal with persistent antisocial offenders and ban them from our town centres, new powers for the police to instantly seize dangerous and deafening off-road bikes causing havoc on our high streets and a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect hard-working shop workers.
“I would like people to know that the Conservative Party has voted against all these measures, and I would urge people to think twice before attending this meeting. These changes are not about moving policing away from local communities but reducing bureaucracy from the centre and investing in local policing and working with communities to ensure they get the resource and focus they need.”
Picture: Roger Hirst, Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and former Southend West and Leigh MP Anna Firth.
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