AFTER employing more enforcement officers and then extending their powers and introducing an extended public protection order Thurrock Council has conceded more needs to be done to make Grays town centre a safer place.

It's just nine months after the produced a report saying how much public safety in Grays town centre had improved thanks to council initiatives but now the authority has joined forces with Essex Police and the county's crime commissioner to seek funding to put up additional lighting in the town centre.

Public concern over the safety of Grays High Street, particularly in the evenings and late at night has been a constant theme for many years - but the council has often played down local people's fears about drinking, anti-social behaviour and a lack of police on the town's streets.

In 2017 the Thurrock Independent newspaper, a forerunner of Thurrock Nub News, campaigned for great efforts to stop the growing crime wave in the High Street area.

The message from residents was resounding - "We want our streets back" - but even though some councilors joined in by calling for more policing, the council played down fears. A year later the paper reported on a further rise in the number of incidents of anti-social behaviour - saying in effect the town had become a no go area, particularly at night.

The message finally appeared to have been rammed home and In June 2019 council leader Cllr Rob Gledhill championed the council's commitment to safety after its enforcement officers were given extra powers. Speaking from Grays High Street which was a key target for improved safety, Cllr Gledhill said: "This is part of the extra £670,000 which has been invested this year and last year to help tackle those who don't want to see Thurrock improve.

"We will continue to take as much action as we can to improve not only our high streets, but the borough as a whole and make clear that behaviour which was allowed to go unchallenged for far too long is brought to an end."

In February last year residents in Grays were invited to have a say on plans to extend the Public Protection Order in the town centre which was supposed to cut down on problems caused by anti-social behavior.

Over the previous autumn and Christmas there had been a reported rise in problems and the council – and police – came under criticism for not doing enough.

The order was extended and will run until 31 March 2023.

Later last year, in June, the council's cleaner, greener and safer overview and scrutiny committee were briefed by community safety partnership manager, Michelle Cunningham, and Jason Read, Thurrock's youth offending operations manager who told them says that community safety in Grays – particularly in the town's High Street and Town Park – is much improved.

But it now appears there is still more to do and today the council said it was now working on a bid with its partners to increase CCTV capability in and around Grays High Street and increase street lighting in areas where criminals operate covertly due to the lack of light within the street.

No areas other than Grays town centre have been singled out.

The fund will also be used to further increase the capacity of the council's environmental enforcement team.

Today Cllr Gledhill, who is also portfolio holder for public protection and anti-social behaviour, said: "This is an excellent example of joined up working between Thurrock Council, Essex Police and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner which will benefit Thurrock's law abiding residents.

"If successful this funding will help to make Thurrock a safer and cleaner place by improving the current crime prevention measures we have in place, strengthening the protection we give to our residents and supporting the work that our local police force already does.

"Our enforcement team will also be supported by this fund. In 2020, they served a total of 52 fixed penalty notices to members of the public that breached the Grays Public Space Protection Order, and issued 119 warnings. This is on top of around 4,000 FPNs issued for anti-social behaviour and environmental crime throughout the whole borough.

"By working together like this we can do more to keep our borough's streets and homes safe, create an environment which prevents criminals from operating and stops those who seek to commit acts of anti-social behaviour in their tracks."

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst, said: "Safe and secure communities are the bedrock on which we build well-being and prosperity for all. By working in partnership, we can provide the infrastructure to give criminals no space to thrive and help our residents feel safer. I'm pleased we can work with Thurrock Council on this bid as it clearly demonstrates our joint commitment to tackling anti-social behaviour and protecting vulnerable people, both key priorities in our police and crime plan."