ESSEX Police are cracking down on domestic abuse with tough new measures, including the possibility of wearing cameras to incidents.

Figures show that a person typically suffers domestic abuse up to 17 times before making a report to the police and even then can be reluctant to give evidence against their attackers.

Essex Police believe that the answer lies in new, tougher, investigative measures, such as body cameras, speaking to neighbours for evidence, and using recordings from 999 calls to stack up the evidence required to bring offenders to justice.

At an economic and environmental scrutiny meeting on Tuesday night, Chief Inspector Dave Colwell was keen to emphasise to councillors the new measures that were being considered.

He said: “We are looking at the possibility of wearing body cameras, to give an accurate reflection of the scenario that officers are confronted with when they attend an incident.”

Chief Inspector Colwell said domestic violence cases are a top priority in Southend. He continued:

“We have a team of officers especially assigned to deal with such cases, and a lot of work goes into bringing offenders to justice.
 

“We want to send a very strong message that we are taking this very seriously, that we are there, and we are supportive.”