Essex police staff set to lose jobs as force closes front desk services
Six out of ten of the county's police stations are closing their front desk services from July 11
Last updated 2nd Jul 2025
Essex police has announced it is cutting its front desk services at six out of ten of the county's police stations from July 11.
That means you can't report crimes at the front desks of Basildon, Braintree, Clacton, Harlow, Saffron Waldon and Maldon stations.
The police stations themselves will remain open and the yellow telephones for reporting crime will still be available for use.
Assistant Chief Constable, Stuart Hopper, says it is because of reduced demand for the service and financial difficulty within the force.
He tells Greatest Hits Radio: "There are real funding challenges for Essex police, we are one of the lowest funded forces in the UK."
"We've worked hard investing in our neighbourhood policing teams which means we've had to make some really difficult decisions about our front office provision."
In April 2025, it was announced the county was set to gain 74 new neighbourhood police officers.
This move was part of the government's plan to restore neighbourhood policing and visibility across England and Wales.
Nine members of staff will lose their jobs because of the changes.
Front counters in Chelmsford, Colchester, Grays, and Southend will remain open and maintain their current opening hours.
ACC Stuart Hooper said: "“Just three in every 100 contacts to our front counters in January were to report a crime or intelligence."
"The majority was public members having organised meetings with officers regarding bail and other things."
“I know there will be some disappointment and I have made sure that there is still a reasonable geographic coverage of open front counters, in addition to more Neighbourhood Policing Team officers on the street.
Over the last year, online reporting and Live Chat contact through the force's website has increased by 8%.
“The number of people using the Live Chat function on our website has more than tripled." says ACC Stuart Hooper.
The Live chat service is available 24/7 to report a crime and can be accessed through the Live Chat icon on their website's homepage or contact page.
The force has reinforced it is run by members of their team, as opposed to AI bots.
To report a crime to police, you can also approach a neighbourhood police officer, call 999 or 101 for non-emergency services.