The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex is targeting investment in extra road crime hotspot policing in the county, after a similar approach has proved successful in driving down anti-social behaviour.

Following the success achieved in the past year by investment in targeted anti-social behaviour policing, the PFCC has allocated £300,000 of Local Safer Streets Funding which will be spent on extra road traffic patrols, traffic crime monitoring and community speedwatch at identified road crime hotspots.

Over the past year to the end of January anti-social behaviour incidents in Essex have decreased by 38.5% and the new targeted investment from the PFCC is hoping to achieve a similar significant drop in speeding incidents and road traffic accidents.

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said: "We're going to more of what works. Targeted investment to bring down anti-social behaviour has worked, now we are targeting investment to bring down road crime.

"In public meetings and the PFCC Rural Crime Forum, the public tell me that speeding in rural areas is a major crime concern. This investment will now target that rural crime with extra police patrols and extra police and community speed camera patrols."

Using road crime intelligence from the last five years, Essex Police Roads Policing Unit have identified 27 hotspot roads which will be targeted with extra traffic patrols and extra Trucam and Laser Cam patrols. This operation will be known as Op Sidewalk.

Op Sidewalk will also cover three specifically identified areas where a large amount anti-social behaviour on the road has been reported.

This investment backs up the commitment made by the PFCC to Vision Zero, the campaign led by the Safer Essex Road Partnership to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries on the county's roads by 2040.

Cllr Lee Scott, Chair of the Safer Essex Roads Partnership and Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport, said: "The Local Safer Streets Funding will be monumental in using targeted investment toward tackling anti-social road user behaviour, and improving road safety across Essex.

"It will include enhanced levels of enforcement in notably problematic areas, enhanced monitoring, and overall, bringing us closer to our shared objective of zero deaths and serious injuries on Essex roads, by 2040.

"This is not a target that can be achieved alone, and I am looking forward to seeing the results from Op Sidewalk."

In the Maldon area, Community Engagement Officers from Maldon District Council will be supporting enhanced enforcement activity across the district.

Cllr Richard Siddall, Leader of Maldon District Council, said; "I am delighted our Community Engagement Officers will be supporting our colleagues in the Essex Roads Policing Team in Operation Sidewalk. Cracking down on anti-social road crime in the known hot spots of our district will make our roads safer for other users and help stamp out anti-social driving."

The 27 sites where investment will be targeted by Op Sidewalk are:

1. Althorne – Summerhill Burnham Road and the junction with Highfield Rise.
2. Bradwell-on-Sea – B1021 Mill End near the junction with Maldon Road and B1021 Maldon Road near the junction with St Peter's Court
3. Canvey Island – Roscommon Way, near the junction with Northwick Road, Dovervelt Road near the junction with Miltsin Avenue, Link Road, near the junction with Benderloch and Eastern Esplanade near the junction with Gazelle Drive.
4. Chipping Ongar – A414 Epping Road near the junction with Aukingford Gardens.
5. Dedham – Long Road East near the junction with Coggeshall Road and Ardleigh Road near the junction with Long Road West
6. Dovercourt – B1352 Ramsey Road junction with Ramsey Road and B1414 Oakley Road near the junction with Earlhams Mews
7. Earls Colne – General roads in the area
8. Great Bardfield – General roads in the area
9. Great Wakering – Star Lane, junction with Sandy Cresent
10. Hatfield Heath – A1060 Stortford Road, junction with Beehive Court, Hatfield Heath.
11. Ingatestone – Roman Road, junction with Whadden Chase
12. Little Clacton – B1414 Harwich Road, junction with Grove Road, Little Clacton
13. Mayland – The Drive, junction with Bakersfield, Imperial Avenue, junction with West Avenue and Steeple Road, junction with Mayland Close
14. Mistley – Harwich Road, junction with Forrester Road, New Road, junction with Church Lane and The Walls, junction with Church Lane.
15. Panfield – General roads in the area
16. Pleshey – General roads in the area
17. Sheering – B183 The Street and The Street junction with Church Lane
18. St Lawrence – Main Road, junction with Anchorage View
19. South Ockendon – B186 South Road, junction with Quince Tree Close
20. Stanford Rivers – A113 London Road, junction with Church Road
21. Tilbury – General roads in the area
22. Vange – B1464 London Road, near the junction with Brickfield Road
23. Waltham Abbey – A112 Sewardstone Road, junction with Hawes Lane, Waltham Abbey
24. Wickham Bishops – Kelvedon Road, near the junction with Great Totham Road, Witham Road, junction with Birch Rise and Maypole Road, junction with Heron Way.
25. Westcliff on Sea – General roads in the area
26. West Bergholt – General roads in the area
27. Weeley – B1033 Colchester Road, junction with Festival Close and B1441 Clacton Road, Junction with Bentley Road.