ESSEX Police and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst addressed members of Thurrock Council at tonight's meeting of the borough authority.

His address, highlighting crime figures across the county - which he described as 'not where we want to be' included his plans to recruit more police officers.

He pointed out the surge over the past year in anti-social behaviour but added that many of the cases recorded related to covid activities, members of the police had to enforce breaches of lockdown measures which were classified as anti-social behaviour.

His address to councillors came on the day he announced plans to raise the police and fire council tax precepts.

Mr Hirst is proposing increasing the policing precept of the Council Tax by 4.79 per cent or £9.99 per year on a Band D property.

If approved at a meeting of the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Panel next week he says the proposals will lead to a further 200 officers being recruited by Essex Police.

"You will see more cops on the streets" he told councillors this evening.

Mr Hirst is also proposing a two per cent increase to the fire and rescue precept or £1.44 increase on a Band D property. This rise would cover inflationary cost pressures on Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Hirst says: "We want to see less crime in Essex. With the support of the public and the Government we are continuing our ambitious investment programme to ensure that Essex Police have the resources they need to get crime down, protect the vulnerable and support victims of crime.

"By March 2022, there will already be over 700 more police officers in Essex than there were in 2016 and if my proposals are accepted by the Police and Crime Panel next week this will increase by a further 200.

"This investment is being used to prevent crime and make a real difference in people's lives. Incidents of burglary, anti-social behaviour and theft have all fallen in recent years and drug driven violence is starting to show a decline too.

"However, we know we need to do more and by investing in Essex Police, it will help us to prevent crime, have stronger neighbourhood policing and an even stronger focus on tackling drug driven violence and gangs. It will also help us support the victims of crime and protect those most vulnerable from becoming victims."

He added: "Our fire and rescue service do a great job, preventing harm, protecting those most at risk and providing an effective response to incidents. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service is working hard to increase its Fire Protection Capability to provide an effective response to the increased risk identified in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

"It is also focused on improving its capacity to effectively prevent fires, investing in training resources for our firefighters, recruiting and retaining our on-call firefighters and ensuring that prevention is at the heart of everything it does.

"The proposals I have put forward for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service will support the service to continue to do more of this work as it continues to improve the services it can offer for our communities."

Borough police commander Ch Insp Mark Barber told members about his targets for tackling crime in the borough, flagging up off road bike riding as one of the key issues.

He highlighted recent issues in Chadwell St Mary were numbers of incidents have risen and he said the area was a 'target hotspot'.

Questioned by Cllr Jane Pothecary about a rise in violent crime in the borough Ch Insp Barber acknowledged that numbers of incidents were continuing to rise.

"It's going to take some time to make a fundamental difference" conceded Mr Hirst.