A community action group is being launched to crack down on crime in South Woodham.

The group, consisting of members of the community with different areas of expertise, will be set up by the police to pool ideas and come up with effective ways of stamping out crime in the town.

Police hope that a group of 20 will be up and running within the next two months, as soon as suitable members have been identified.

"The idea of the group is that police can no longer tackle crime single-handedly so we need to look for help from the community," said Acting Insp Lee Davis, who is co-ordinating the group at South Woodham police.

"We are looking for people who are really keen and have some particular expertise to offer, such as victim support workers, local councillors, people from local businesses, and prominent figures in the town.

"We also need a minute-taker and people with financial skills and public relations skills - basically anyone who can carry some weight and make a serious input to the group.

"We want to get different people involved who have a serious interest in crime prevention, to concentrate all our efforts on cutting down on crime in the area."

Group members will be expected to attend meetings every one to two months to discuss plans of action.

"We want the group to identify the main crime groups in the area and develop solutions to deal with those problems," said Insp Davis.

"The police will be there to set the ball rolling but the group will basically run itself."

Police are contacting local people who may have suitable qualities to offer the group.

They are also searching for a suitable meeting place for the group.

Anyone who would like to get involved should contact Insp Davis at South Woodham police on 01245 320333.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.