Controversial street wardens paid to help police fight crime could soon be on the streets of Braintree and Witham.
The auxiliary officers, who will not be part of the police and will have their own uniforms, are already on the streets of London and Harlow.
Critics have said they are "policing on the cheap."
But now Essex Police could have 80 wardens spread across the county, with about ten cycling or walking around each district from the autumn.
On Monday Essex Police Authority members will be deciding whether to allocate £500,000 to the project, revealed in the Evening Gazette last year after the Government announced the idea.
Police authority chairman Robert Chambers said the community wardens would be the eyes and ears for police officers.
"They will not be vehicle mobile - that's not the idea. They will be cycling or walking from village to village," he said.
Mr Chambers said the wardens would not have the same powers as police.
"Hopefully they will glean information which they can feed back to the police and will be more like the village bobby without the powers," he added.
The pilot Harlow scheme attracted Government cash of £118,000 for a year.
Mr Chambers said putting uniformed community wardens on the streets of Essex depended on Essex County Council putting in £500,000 into a partnership deal.
The scheme has been welcomed by Braintree Council.
Published Friday, January 17, 2003
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