A police initiative putting extra patrols on the streets of Clacton during the summer season has been hailed a success.
The operation saw additional high visibility policing during peak tourist times, to reassure residents and businesses, deter offenders, and tackle an increase in criminal activity during the summer time which matches a rise in the population.
The initiative was funded with £15,000 from Tendring District Council (TDC) and £5,000 from Essex Police.
Figures now reveal during the period of the operation, which ran from July 20 to September 15, 19 people were arrested and 26 people stop-searched, with a total of 560 hours of additional high visibility patrols carried out.
Crime figures show that compared to the same period in 2017 robbery offences were down 40%, violence with injury crimes down 6%, shop theft fell by 20% and anti-social behaviour incidents reduced by 29%.
The main thrust of the operation was to provide public reassurance to both the retail community and also visitors to the area, rather than pushing up arrest rates.