ESSEX'S Police and Crime Commissioner has said the force requires hundreds more officers to do the job he wants it to and it seems likely that residents in Thurrock will be asked to contribute more than they currently do for policing - even though officer numbers could actually be cut in the borough.

Commissioner Roger Hirst was speaking in light of the government spending review announcement that has allocated Essex Police central funding for 127 more officers for 2021/22 – well short of the 235 officers Essex Police says it needs to do everything it wants.

And there may soon be a cut in the funding for officers in Thurrock if the borough council is forced to follow up and turn its warning that it needs to downsize and cut funding for external practices – including funding police officers - into reality.

As exclusively reported by Thurrock Nub News earlier this month, the council is battening down its hatches as it faces massive shortfalls in its budget.

Throwing that possibility and the government's funding into the equation, Mr Hirst has to come up with some sums that get him near his officer numbers target, but he also says he will not use up the maximum he is allowed to charge.

He says he will not be asking residents for as much as the 7.5 per cent – an extra £15 on a band D property – that could allowed to supplement the gap.

But he has indicted there will be an increase above 2.5 per cent to help pay for extra officers, adding: "For around 2.5 per cent on council tax that we first thought and with the support from central government we can do the 127 figure but if we want to make a difference we know we need more like 235.

"We can't do that but what I want to do is for every bit we go over the 2.5 per cent to be able to explain what they are getting for it."

Ultimately he says he want to get in a position where Essex has around 3,600 officers in the next two years – about another 230 extra officers from its current position.

The force has already increased its officer numbers by around 520 since 2018/19 funded from increases in council tax payments. Mr Hirst says: "We do the work around what shape we need to be in to bring stuff down.

"Where we have applied to known techniques and interventions with right resources around burglary and theft and anti social behaviour, then it's working and actually we have managed to stop the increase in things like violent crime as well but we need to bring them down and that is size of number we are taking about."