Disbelief and anger in Essex over cuts to police officers and staff

29 January 2025

The body representing Police Officers in Essex Police has spoken of its “disbelief and anger” over cuts to the force that will see its entire 99 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) made redundant.

Laura Heggie, Chair of Essex Police Federation, was speaking after the Chief Constable warned that all PCSOs and 65 police staff were at risk of redundancy amid a £5.3 million shortfall in funding for the force.

Laura said this move would “a massive impact on the police officers of Essex – who are already overstretched - but more importantly the public in the county”.

The force’s plans would also mean slashing officers’ South-East Allowance – leaving the force vulnerable to officers leaving for other forces in London - and removing the Detective Allowance entirely, meaning officers lose a substantial amount of pay.

Essex Police’s initial budget shortfall was £12.5 million, due to an inadequate Government Police Funding Settlement for 2025/26. Some money has been clawed back by efficiency savings and raising the council tax to the maximum allowed without a referendum, but the force still needs to find £5.3 million.

Police staff and officers were told of the proposals yesterday. Laura said that the Federation’s reaction was “complete disbelief”.

She continued: “That’s all of our PCSOs wiped out. Don’t underestimate the value that they bring. They are an instrumental part of the community of policing – they are our eyes and ears. They also pick up a lot of work that is all now going to fall to police officers, who are already overstretched and can’t meet that demand.

“These cuts will have huge consequences. Changes to the service we provide the public are going to have to be made if this goes through; if we lose our PCSOs we cannot continue to provide the service we do at the moment – there’s no doubt about it.”

In a message to politicians of all parties, Laura said: “In order for us to do the policing, we need to have the money to do it.”

Although Chief Constable BJ Harrington has said that no police officer roles will go, Laura emphasised that these cuts would see officers exit Essex Police.

She said: “We will lose officers because they’re not going to be able to afford to stay in Essex, that’s the bottom line. They’re already living from month to month. We border London, so as soon as they step over that border they get an extra £6,500 via the London Allowance.”

Laura said the situation was “disgraceful” and that the blame lies with poor Government funding for Essex Police from both the current and previous Government.

She said that officers today were feeling a mix of emotions: “There’s the disbelief, there’s the sympathy for our colleagues, and there's the anger.”