Home Office minister Charles Clarke is to talk to top officers in Clacton over targeted policing.

Mr Clarke will be briefed by chiefs on how they have tackled crime in the west Clacton area with a pro-active approach.

The minister will be at the town's police station on Monday for a private briefing on how the scheme is progressing. The visit has been arranged by Harwich MP Ivan Henderson

Chief Insp Craig Robertson said he was delighted there would be a ministerial visit.

"We will be discussing a number of issues, the main one being west Clacton," he said.

"Crime figures may be going up in the short-term because more people are coming forward in reporting incidents.

"But the fact is that people living in that area who previously had very low confidence in the police and the justice system are changing their minds. In my view, that is a real success story and we are making progress.

"I can live with a short increase in reported crime if people are actually telling us their problems and giving us a chance to help solve them."

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