Officers in 'complete disbelief' over job cuts plan

Essex Police Federation chairwoman Laura Heggie said there was "disbelief, sympathy for our colleagues and there's anger" about the cuts

Police officers have been left in "complete disbelief" at plans to make 99 community support officers (PCSOs) redundant, a representative has warned.

Essex Police revealed on Tuesday it also wanted to cut 65 staff roles amid a £5.3m budget shortfall.

Laura Heggie, chairwoman of the force's federation, said watching staff being told their jobs were at risk was "one of the hardest things I've witnessed in my career".

It followed Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst telling BBC Essex redundancies were "the least worst option".

"Our reaction across the board is a complete disbelief at what's potentially going to happen and the impact that's going to have," Ms Heggie said.

"If we lose our PCSOs we cannot continue to provide the service we are at the moment, there's no doubt about it.

"There is disbelief, sympathy for our colleagues and there's anger."

Essex Police employs about 3,755 officers

PCSOs are paid employees but do not have powers of arrest unless accompanied by a constable.

The proposed redundancies are subject to consultation.

Ms Heggie added: "You can't underestimate the value they bring, they are an instrumental part of community policing. They are our eyes and ears."

Essex Police employs about 3,755 officers and said salaries accounted for 81% of its yearly expenditure.

Hirst, who was elected on a Conservative ticket, told BBC Essex he would consider taking a pay cut during the catalogue of cost-saving measures.

"The frustration is we have been in a position for the last few years to reduce crime across Essex," he said.

"It almost feels like we're being penalised here in Essex for being so successful."

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst said Essex Police needed the "right resources" to continue fighting crime

Hirst said the impact of losing "brilliant" PCSOs and staff was going to be "tangible".

He added: "We've shown Essex Police has the tactics, the ability, the capability to reduce crime across the county, we just need to have the right resources."

In a statement on Tuesday, Essex Police said "inadequate" funding from the government was to blame for its challenging financial situation.

However, a Home Office spokesman said an extra 13,000 neighbourhood police officers, community support officers and special constables were being funded as part of a "visible policing drive".

'Political game playing'

Reacting to the announcement, Conservative MP for Braintree and former Home Secretary James Cleverly said Labour had got its "maths badly wrong".

He said Essex Police had been "squeezing and squeezing and squeezing" financially, adding: "But now they've gone as far as they can go because of Labour's financial mismanagement."

However, Labour MP for Thurrock Jen Craft accused Cleverly of "political game playing".

"We've had 14 years of chronic underfunding on all of our public services, not just police," she said.

"This year we've had a funding increase for police forces, including Essex."