Parking rows, burglary and anti-social behavior were hot topics at a meeting with the first ever police and crime commissioner for Essex, last night.

Despite a small turn out, the meeting which was also webcast on the internet, saw Epping Forest residents quizzing Nick Alston on crime in the district.

Figures released by police showed that whilst the overall number of offences is down by three percent, theft from vehicles, theft of vehicles and serious violent crime have all increased.

Mr Alston, who has now been in the post for six months, said that he was pleased with the work of officers in the district, as criminal damage, non-dwelling burglaries and violence figures are down. He was also keen for people to join neighbourhood watch schemes in Epping Forest.

He said: “We have got to take a bit of the burden off of the police where we can.

“I am not saying that you should let the police off the hook, I certainly won’t, but we can do so much to help ourselves.”

Other advice from the PCC included installing burglar alarms and ensuring that expensive items are never left on display.

Acting district commander Tracey Harman said that police were working with officers from the Metropolitan Police Service to try to stamp out cross border crime as a priority.

She said: “In relation to Epping Forest it does provide us with policing challenges. There are some very affluent areas, which can be attractive to criminals.

“Forty-eight percent of people committing crime in our area have actually come from outside.

“Response times are ten minutes for urban areas and twenty minutes for rural.”

When questioned over anti-social behaviour, officers promised that they would come up with specific plans for each area, if they are flagged up by residents during the summer holidays.

In an interview after the meeting Mr Alston said that despite success with savings, he would not rule out sponsorship for the force.

He said: “I absolutely would not rule sponsorship out. It is not high on the agenda at the moment and we have managed to make all of the necessary savings for this year, but I would not rule it out.

The next meeting will be held towards the end of this year.