The Chief Constable 

Essex Police Headquarters, 

PO Box 2,Springfield, 

Chelmsford, 

Essex,CM2 6DA 

 

 

Dear Chief Constable, 

 

 

At our Town Council meeting a few weeks ago, I suggested that we were getting “10 Pence Policing” – in other words, for every £1 paid in direct or indirect taxes by our 19,000 residents, only 10p is being spent on visible policing in our town area. 

An Essex Police spokesman said (on your behalf) that it was more than that – perhaps so, but I suspect a detailed analysis would find that any sporadic extras, such as traffic patrol, CID and mounted police, would scarcely take the total to 20p. Whether it is 10p or 20p, the point still remains valid – our residents are quite obviously paying a lot for not very much. 

I also posed the question, “Are those in charge of our police “fit for purpose?”, but left the answer open to give the responsible people plenty of time to respond. Having seen that response, I am rapidly, but sadly coming to the conclusion that the answer is “No”. 

Why? The closure of Walton Police Station is a double-edged sword. Not only does it mean that there is no physical location in the Frinton and Walton town for our police, but it also means that there will be none of our police actually stationed in the town. I use the word ‘our’ because our residents provide 50% of the funding for our 8 PCSO’s, with only one sergeant and two constables fully funded by Essex Police (from an inspector, a sergeant and ten constables only a decade ago). 

We are all getting used to our political leaders noisily saying one thing about ‘Localism’, but either quietly doing very little or, often, the opposite. However, when it comes to those in charge of our police, I believe that such behaviour is completely unacceptable. A visit to the Essex Police website speaks loudly about the importance of Neighbourhood Policing, yet the opposite is quite evidently happening here in this town. 

You, yourself, have told every resident in this county that “Neighbourhood policing has played a fundamental role in reducing crime and making you feel even safer” and added, “we will further develop our policing style – increasing visibility and face-to-face contact”. Those now sound very hollow words to the residents of Frinton and Walton, the very people who, so expensively, provide the finances to run Essex Police. 

 

You will be aware that we held a meeting with your Divisional Commander and two colleagues, and we ensured that the tone of the meeting was constructive throughout. We pointed out that the sale of the Walton Police Station did not mean that our police needed to be relocated outside the town area, and both should be considered as separate decisions. We offered one or two suggestions, including utilising the soon-to-be vacant TDC cash office adjacent to the Town Council offices in the Triangle Shopping Centre as a new, smaller and much cheaper station. 

 

Yet it became obvious that the decision did not rest with even these high-ranking officers and so it has proved. We havenow received what appears to be a pro-forma letter (adjusted for the locality) addressed to “Dear Colleague” from you and the Chairman of the Essex Police Authority. In it, it baldly states that the relocation of our police to Thorpe-le-Soken precedes the ‘consultation’ date for the sale of the Walton Police Station, meaning the matter was very likely decided before the Town Council meeting with your officers and that all they were there to do was offer empty words to councillors. 

 

The meeting, I can only conclude, was a complete waste of time, an insult to the Mayor and Council who arranged it in good faith and a thumbing of your nose to the people who pay your wages and whom you serve. Furthermore, your proposal for our Town betrays every word you have said about Neighbourhood Policing, it goes completely against the hallmark of all successful service organisations about keeping the service close to the customer and it can scarcely be described as playing “a fundamental role in reducing crime and making (residents) feel even safer”. 

 

Notwithstanding all that, I urge you, even at this late stage, to postpone the relocation of our police to Thorpe and attend, in person, a meeting with the Town Council for a constructive discussion and genuine consultation with the people that represent our community about the future of policing in Frinton, Walton and the surrounding villages. 

 

 

Yours sincerely, 

 

David Lines 

 

F &W Town Councillor David Lines 

 

 

Original sent by post 

T/ACC Julia Wortley, 

Chief Constable’s Office 

Essex Police Headquarters, 

Chelmsford CM2 6DA 

 

 

Dear T/ACC Wortley, 

 

Thank you for your prompt and detailed response to my letter addressed to the Chief Constable. I am heartened by your commitment on behalf of Essex Police to retain a working base in the town for our Neighbourhood Police. I am sure my colleagues on the Town Council will join me in offering ideas and whole-hearted support to that end. 

 

I think it important at this stage to quantify exactly what we are looking for, establishing from the outset a minimum and maximum requirement for the new local station. This, of course, will have to take in a number of factors, not least functionality, security and a reasonable measure of comfort in terms of working conditions. 

 

By doing this, we can be certain not to waste too much time in looking at potential locations that will subsequently be deemed unsuitable. It will also be helpful to know what discussions are taking place with “partner agencies”, once again to be certain of using our collective time in a productive manner. 

 

For example, you will know that there is a Fire Station and an Ambulance Station located in the town, and a sharing of facilities would seem an obvious avenue to explore. Not only would it offer a saving on policing costs, but also help to mitigate any threat to those facilities as well. I know the latter would not be of direct consequence to Essex Police, but you will understand the Town Council’s concern about the potential loss of those local services as well. 

 

I look forward to receiving your responses to these points in due course. I, for one, will be happy to meet you to discuss the matter further, either here at the Town Council offices or at your offices in Chelmsford. 

 

Yours sincerely 

 

David Lines 

 

Cllr. David Lines