I met Roger Hirst, the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, last week to catch up with the latest news on two of our excellent emergency services. I am very aware, from the many constituents who write to me about crime and policing, that there is a demand for more police to be seen more often on our streets. This, as with everything, costs money.
Roger is currently running a survey to ask us what we think about paying more through our council tax for policing in Brentwood and Ongar. If you have strong views either way, this is what Roger is asking you to do:
"The funding of Essex Police is an important topic both in the media and through public comments and correspondence. While the demand for greater police visibility is very strong, there is also a clear pressure to manage the impact of any potential rise in funding provided through the police precept.
Prior to the setting of the policing precept for 2018/19, I intend to carry out a public survey to help inform my approach. The survey will seek to identify the general appetite for investing more in Essex Police, what would be a reasonable level of additional investment and the areas where the public would like to see extra investment.
Members of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel have been advised of the survey and have fed in their views to the questions being posed.
The survey will run from 1am on Monday, November 6 for two weeks until midnight on Sunday, November 19 and is available online via this link http://surveys.essexinsight.org.uk/policeprecept "