After armed raids on homes in Dummow and Takeley, the Mayor of Dunmow, Councillor Danielle Frost has decried the lack of a police presence in the district.
Cllr Frost said: “Criminals think they can get away with it. I am shocked by how many people have put CCTV up outside their homes. People are definitely more wary, and think an alarm isn’t enough.”
She added: “Dunmow Police Station cost £7.8million. It was a brand new, bespoke building and it was open for just 18 months. “Now it’s empty. The only police we see are patrolling officers, some of them come from as far away as Southend.
“There are PCSOs but they only work until 10pm. The police we have are doing the best they can but there are not enough of them.
“We are very much a rural area and we need to see police on the streets, not just concerned with cyber crime.
“We have had two bank robberies and a raid on the bookies all in the past two years.
“We at the council have tried to take action but we don’t have the resources to follow it through.”
She added: “We put up baubles on our Christmas tree (in the Market Square, outside the libary) and they were smashed within 24 hours. And it’s not just in Dunmow, there is an increase in anti-social behaviour in Felsted and Flitch Green. There is no authoritative presence to stop them.”
The first armed burglary happened at a property in Stortford Road, Dunmow at around 6.15pm on Tuesday, November 14.
Men armed with knives threatened a person inside the house, before making off with jewellery and a four-figure sum of cash.
On Tuesday, November 28, a gang of armed men stole gold jewellery during a raid on a flat above the post office in Dunmow Road, Takeley.
The group of five or six men, armed with metal poles and knives, forced their way into the home shortly before 9.45pm.
The people in the flat, two men and two women, were uninjured.
They have been safeguarded by specialist officers from Essex Police.
Witnesses or anyone with information about either of the incidents are asked to contact Braintree CID on 101, or alternatively contact the independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
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