Southend Council votes to pay special constables to patrol city centre

The motion was put forward following concerns over safety in the city after video footage circulated online this summer showing youths wielding machetes on the seafront.

Southend Council has agreed to pay special constables up to £2,000 a year to help boost police numbers in the city.

The motion was put forward following concerns over safety in the city after video footage circulated online this summer showing youths wielding machetes on the seafront.

The Conservatives, who are in opposition to a Labour administration, tabled the motion saying it would help provide "more police officers for major events, protests, times of high footfall and to offer reassurance to our residents".

Mr Courtenay, a former Metropolitan Police officer, has served alongside special constables, who are often deployed at weekends to work with paid-for officers.

Referring to the the cost of cutting their council tax, he added: "A couple of grand at most for a couple of hours of voluntary work is great value for money."

Labour leader of the council, Daniel Cowan, supported the motion, but said details of how it would be applied were still being worked out.

He added: "Essex Police are ultimately responsible for where special constables are deployed, but we are hoping to come to some arrangement to ensure they are in Southend and not elsewhere in the county."

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