POLICE will be giving live Twitter updates on crimes they attend to today.

The 24-hour Tweetathon from 6am is designed to give members of the public an insight into the demands facing police on a typical day.

A team of staff will be based in the control room and tweeting live from @EssexPolice using #FCRLIVE.

The posts will cover basic details of a selection of incidents, inquiries and issues received via 999 and 101.

Superintendent Lynn Goodall said: “This is a great opportunity for us to show members of the public the types of calls we receive and it may surprise them to see that many people are not ringing about crime.

“Every day our call handlers deal with calls about a range of issues relating to mental health, vulnerability and requests for information, alongside calls reporting crime or from people needing urgent help.”

“We also take hundreds of calls every month on issues that should be dealt with by other agencies, so we will also use the Tweetathon to raise awareness of the correct phone numbers people can call and our Do It Online website link, where they can report non-policing issues to the right agency.”

The Tweetathon is part of Essex Police’s More Time To Fight Crime campaign.

Essex Police sees a “seasonal spike” in crime in the summertime, before the figures fall back in autumn, and also experiences a summer increase in incidents not relating to crime, such as missing people.