Billericay is the fifth safest place in the country according to the town's police chief and despite facing problems with vandalism and shoplifters commuting into the town Insp Steve Tutton is determined to keep it that way.

Insp Tutton, who has been in charge at Billericay for 18 months, said the town had a crime rate three times below the national average and well below figures seen in nearby towns such as Basildon and Southend.

He said: "According to the national average you would expect nine crimes to be suffered a year for every 100 residents. In Billericay it is 3.07 per 100.

"That is unbelievable and is a tribute to the various agencies in the area, the people who live here and in particular the Neighbourhood Watch.

"Billericay has a great community feeling and one of the good things for us is the intolerance of crime - people simply do not accept it should happen in their town."

Cllr Peter Patrick, of Billericay East, said: "I am not that surprised because people in Billericay have always tried to make the place as safe and pleasant as possible.

"Obviously there are a small number of people who will spoil things - break down walls or smash up toilets at parks - but they are in the minority.

"Hopefully the people causing mindless vandalism in the town can be caught and punished."

Speaking at a meeting of Basildon Police and Community Consultative Group, Insp Tutton did not try and hide from the problems facing his relatively small team of officers and identified several areas of concern.

He said the town's High Street remains a prime target for criminals travelling into the area by train.

To combat this high visibility patrols are operating in the town centre and the shoplink radio scheme with local businesses is continuing to develop.

A livelier and sometimes more rowdier High Street is also causing problems and to deal with this there will be a guaranteed police presence in the High Street on a Friday and Saturday night.

He said: "There will still be problems of nuisance, but we will be there keeping an eye on it. "

Insp Tutton said a flexible approach meant his officers were aiming to address the key problem areas as effectively as possible.

Members of the public at the meeting did question whether there should be more police officers committed to Billericay, they also complained at rising vandalism, slow response times and problems getting through to police officers on the phone.

Divisional Commander, Superintendent Denis Sheppard, argued this was a result of having to juggle limited resources and priorities, but accepted dealing with phone calls was a major problem.

He said: "The issue of call handling is the worst part of the service we are providing to the public."

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