Essex Police cuts include 15 station closures

Fifteen police stations are to close to the public in Essex as part of £63m of spending cuts, a police and crime commissioner has said.

Nine stations are to shut down with front counter service shutting in six others and staff cut from 98 to 36.

Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston said many buildings were no longer fit for purpose

"Police officers, not buildings, fight crime," Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said.

"We spend too much on too many police buildings, many of which are either no longer fit for policing or are hardly used by the public to report crime.

"The financial outlook might be slightly brighter than we thought in the autumn, but Essex Police still needs to change.

"The confirmation today of proposals the PCC and I made in October provide for a police estate fit for the future ready to cope with changes in crime and technology."

A new online crime reporting system will begin next Spring and work to investigate new ways of delivering face-to-face contact with police is under way.

Essex Police said then it had to find £63m savings to its annual budget of £262m.

The force currently employs about 3,000 officers, 375 specials, 250 police community support officers and 1,850 other staff.

Proposed police stations with front counters remaining open from April 2016:

• Basildon

• Braintree

• Chelmsford

• Clacton

• Colchester

• Grays

• Harlow

• Maldon

• Saffron Walden

• Southend

Front counters closing:

• Billericay

• Brentwood

• Canvey Island

• Epping

• Great Dunmow

• Halstead

• Harwich

• Loughton

• Pitsea

• Rayleigh

• Southminster

• South Ockendon

• South Woodham Ferrers

• Tilbury

• Witham