Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex today joined Priti Patel MP on a walkabout in Witham to view plans for Safer Streets funded improvements and upgraded CCTV measures.

The former Home Secretary and Witham's local MP, joined Cllr Susan Ager, Mayor of Witham, and Essex's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for a tour of plans for new 'Safer Streets' measures in the town.

The tour included viewing the installation of new CCTV cameras, improved signs and landscape improvements, which aim to increase visibility to alleys and access routes.

The PFCC for Essex successfully secured £297,202 of Safer Streets funding from the Home Office for improvements to Witham Town Centre, focusing on Collingwood Road and the town riverwalk area.

The Safer Streets project has also announced funding to other similar projects in Maldon and Burnham-on-Crouch.

Roger Hirst, PFCC for Essex, said: "We are pleased to be here to view the improvements to the street landscape in Witham, showing us what valuable changes can be made to improve public safety in towns and cities in Essex.

"Safe and secure communities are the bedrock on which we build success, prosperity and well-being for all. Since 2016 all of us together have invested in making our communities safer and this partnership approach has worked – the very latest figures show crime in Essex is down 5.7 per cent year on year and anti-social behaviour is down 37 per cent."

PFCC Essex has invested over £3 million in local communities since 2020, changing lighting, CCTV, community engagement and the layout of local areas where local communities say they felt unsafe.

Through the Safer Streets Fund, a further £5 million of improvements will be delivered in the next 18 months to improve street safety across Essex.