I AM looking forward to this new year as Essex Police increases its officer numbers to more than 3,300.

I am involved in interviewing the prospective new recruits and it is refreshing to interview excellent people with amazing life experiences and meeting young people who bring energy and freshness of approach.

If you are interested in joining Essex Police then please do go to essex.police.uk/careers .

2020 will be a year where I will be collaborating even more closely with our partners across the county. I’m committed to keeping our vulnerable people safe but this can’t be achieved in isolation.

My Town Centre Team is working with Dan Kingham, an anti-social behaviour patrol officer from Tendring Council to reduce anti-social activity in Clacton town centre.

They have been identifying those who are persistently causing issues and issuing them with Community Protection Notices (CPNs).

CPNs require them to stop acting anti-socially and breaching them is a criminal offence.

The town centre is a Public Space Protection Order area which means we have additional powers to prohibit certain types of activity such as begging and street drinking. Anyone who’s found to be violating this can be fined.

These are just some of the ways we’re working to keep Tendring safe and pleasant places to live, work and visit.

No-one should be subjected to violence or abuse, especially not in their own home or relationship and we will be increasing the use of Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders (DVPO) to help protect some of our district’s most vulnerable people.

These can be put in place when violence is threatened or used and the other criminal justice routes are not applied.

Their use helps us to better manage risk, target perpetrators and improve safety planning for domestic abuse victims and can prevent someone from contacting a victim or going to a particular address.

I continue to provide a monthly briefing to key partners which include MPs, town and parish councillors, councillors, the Community Safety Partnership, Tendring Neighbourhood Watch and the Independent Advisory Group.

If you would like to become part of our Independent Advisory Group then please do get in touch as this is a genuine partnership with police and council where your views can help design and deliver our services.

Happy new year and wishing everyone a safe 2020.