Changes announced by Essex Police today could see the closure of up to 15 police stations, a cut of 190 PCSOs and new headquarters.

Essex Police is anticipating cuts of around £63 million by 2019-20, on an annual budget of around £262 million.

Around 83 per cent of the budget is spent on the salaries of police officers, PCSOs and police staff.

With £1 million paying for 20 police constables for a year, the financial challenges inevitably mean Essex Police’s workforce will become significantly smaller over the next few years.

There are currently 25 police stations with front counters in Essex but plans are in place to reduce this number to just ten by April next year.

Brentwood police station will remain open for the time being but there are proposals to close the front counter to the public although the station would continue to be used as an operational base for local officers.

Over two separate months 488 people visited the station's front counter, compared to 6,839 in Harlow, 3,951 in Basildon and 3,889 in Grays.

Of that figure at Brentwood, only ten visitors were reporting a crime.

It is proposed that the new Community Policing Team, which will be shared for Brentwood and Epping, would be made up of: one local policing and partnership inspector, two sergeants, 10 constables, one dedicated youth officer and seven PCSOs.

• The team will prioritise: protecting people from harm; preventing and reducing crime; bringing criminals to justice; engaging with the public; and ensuring the public are satisfied with the service they receive.

• The team will work closely with partners to deal with all aspects of neighbourhood policing, from tackling night-time economy related violence to responding to emerging crime trends.

• They will not deal with low level non-policing matters such as long-term neighbourhood disputes, low level anti-social behaviour and parking issues, but will work alongside partners, for example the local authority and Community Safety Partnership, who will address these matters.

• Under proposals, currently under consultation with affected staff, 19 of the 26 PCSOS jobs may be removed from Brentwood and Epping Forest and the affected staff would be retained as PCSOs, redeployed or made redundant. It is proposed that the new Community Policing Team for Brentwood and Epping will retain seven PCSO jobs.

• The Community Policing Teams will hold monthly Local Community Meetings where residents can raise their crime related concerns. Street meets will be discontinued.