Essex is one of the safest counties in the country.

Essex Police is one of the lowest-spending forces nationally, according to a baseline assessment of the force carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).

Police forces across the country will today learn how their performance has been assessed by the HMIC after a nail-biting wait.

The report says a recent British Crime Survey found Essex one of the safest with a 22 per cent cut in burglary offences on homes and a 28 per cent cut in vehicle crime over the past ten years.

It adds that for the past five years Essex Police has established a programme of annual efficiency savings which has exceeded the two per cent target set by Government.

The inspector also found the force has a good grasp on hate crime, with homophobic and racial incident liaison officers monitoring the community impact of offences and advising on investigations.

All officers are also community race trained.

However, it was found that many officers are actually unclear about who has responsibility for investigating hate crime.

Published Monday June 14, 2004

Brought to you by the Evening Gazette