Southend: 'It's good to talk' says police motto

The force recognises that much of its work in wiping out crime in the borough is intelligence led and this information can only be gained by working closely with the community.

Insp Trevor Chaplin introduced the new scheme at a meeting of the Southend Police and Community Consultative Committee.

He said: "As a direct result of a number of comments we are looking at communication with the public and internally as well."

A recent internal survey carried out for Investors in People revealed that communication within the force was lacking and there was room for improvement.

It showed that managers were not always effective in getting information to the staff, and that insufficient attention was paid to seeking and listening to the views of colleagues.

With the introduction of the strategy Southend police aims to become more approachable to the community and be open and honest in the way it provides information to the public on policing in their area.

It also aims to ensure all staff are given the information to carry out their jobs and use all available methods of communication and technology.

The division recognises there is a problem with the amount of time it takes for operators at the stations to answer the telephone.

Supt Mike Benning reported that Southend police would not meet its targets this year for answering calls within 30 seconds, although the figure had risen from last year.

He said: "There was a target of 88 per cent of calls to be answered within 30 seconds and we have reached 83.9 per cent. This is because it is an old fashioned switchboard and can only answer one call at a time.

"Staff receive training on taking calls and dealing with them as quickly as possible."

One of the directives for staff will be to answer calls giving their names so callers have a contact and feel their enquiry is being dealt with efficiently.

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