Essex Police Performance
The PFCC’s vision is that safe and secure communities are the bedrock on which we build success, prosperity and wellbeing for all.
The force’s latest PEEL inspection found it to be Good in two areas (crime data accuracy and developing a positive workforce), Adequate in six areas (use of police powers and public treatment, preventing crime, responding to the public, investigating crime, managing offenders, and leadership and force management), and to require improvement in how it protects vulnerable people. The report recognises the force’s strong leadership, its commitment to support the wellbeing of its workforce, and the work done to improve how the force responds to the public and investigates crime.
We have maintained the increase in officer numbers achieved in April 2023 – having 3,815 officers at the end of March 2026 – and this investment continues to yield results. We are making significant strides in reducing crime, enhancing police visibility and ensuring that our neighbourhood policing teams are actively engaged and visible within our communities. The force pioneered hotspot policing, has invested in new technology to improve productivity, and is constantly developing the skills of officers, police staff and volunteers.
Making progress
Homicide and burglary rates have more than halved since 2016, while anti-social behaviour incidents have reduced by two thirds. Essex experienced a 5.46% reduction in the number of fraud offences in 2025/26 and our work through the Multi Agency Action Against Fraud (MAAAF) partnership, which works hard to raise awareness of fraud, saw a 22.22% reduction in the number of repeat victims of fraud. Our latest PEEL report highlighted an area of Innovative Practice in relation to the work done with partners to reduce fraud and support vulnerable victims better. The all crime solved rate increased by 2.08% in 2025/26, to a solved rate of 17.16% at the end of March 2026, and there were 733 (6.1%) fewer repeat victims of all crime in Essex during the year. We also saw an improvement of 16.1% in the number of all crimes charged.
We know drugs are inextricably linked with knife crime and gangs and create a cycle of violence that has a devastating impact on communities. By working at a national level with the National Crime Agency, through the Essex Police Serious Violence Unit, and at a preventative level through our Violence and Vulnerability Unit, we are successfully reducing serious violence in our communities, dismantling Organised Crime Groups operating in the county and driving down knife enabled crime. Essex experienced a statistically significant decrease of 11.74% (171 fewer) knife enabled offences in 2025/26 compared with the previous year.
But, while we are making significant progress in making our communities safer, there is still more work to be done.
Continued Focus
Reducing violence and against women and girls (VAWG) and domestic abuse requires continued focus, as we strive to provide a society where women and girls can go about their lives free from fear and harm. Essex experienced a statistically significant increase of 5.48% in the number of recorded sexual offences against women in 2025/26. However, the solved rate rose by 1.81%, to 10.42%. This is the highest annual solved rate in the last seven years. The county saw an increase of 4.72% in the number of recorded rape offences over this period, and we are determined to see a sustained reduction in the future. More pleasingly, though, the number of rape offences charged increased by over 100%, while the solved rate increased by 4.15% to 8.15%. After a period of continued decline, domestic abuse offences rose by 3.13%, to 23,359, in 2025/26. However, the solved rate increased by 1.8%, to 13.56%.
The PFCC’s investment through their Safer Streets Fund is making a real difference as, by working together with Community Safety Partnerships, we are creating spaces where people, especially women and girls, feel and are safer. Alongside our partners, we are working hard to break the cycle of domestic abuse by supporting victims and taking a preventative approach by tackling aggressive, dysfunctional behaviour early to stop it escalating. Together, we are investing heavily in services and resources and taking a partnership approach including better recording and handling of cases, greater investment in perpetrator programmes and delivering far-reaching and hard-hitting media campaigns.
The force’s latest PEEL report highlighted an area of Promising Practice around the considerable investment in the DA Problem-Solving Team and data analysis of repeat victimisation. Operation Soteria has also been implemented to improve support for victims of VAWG and strengthen our response to offenders, and we are starting to see and embed the benefits of this.
Shoplifting remains a persistent issue, particularly repeat offending. In response, we have introduced new interventions to target repeat shoplifters and bring them to justice. These measures are beginning to have an impact, but we acknowledge that further work is required to deliver lasting change.
The force’s latest PEEL report highlights the need to focus more on protecting vulnerable people (especially repeat victims of crime and ASB) and identifying risks and issues at an early stage. After a period of sustained reduction, Essex experienced an increase of 6.28% (+ 901) in the number of recorded ASB incidents in 2025/26. The report also highlighted the need to continue to improve the quality of investigations and ensure consistency of outcomes across departments.
We also need to do more to improve road safety and realise our ambition of Vision Zero which is to have zero road deaths in Essex by 2040. The total number of drink and drug driving offences on Essex roads increased by 46.73% (1,001 offences) in 2025/26 compared with the previous year, and it is a sad reality that more people are killed and seriously injured on Essex roads than by all other crimes combined. The number of people killed or seriously injured on Essex roads increased by 13.87% in 2025/26 to 989, 54 of which were fatalities.
Confidence in Essex Police has historically been high but fell by 5.32% to 69.76% in 2025/26. Victim confidence fell by 2.93% to 54.35% while non-victim confidence fell by 5.41% to 72.1%. For both victims and non-victims, these are amongst the lowest levels of confidence reported since 202/21. We must turn this around.