Police in Essex are braced for an increase on demand during the summer months – with more reports of drunken behaviour and missing people expected.

Launching its summer policing campaign for Essex, the force urged everyone to help prevent harm to their local communities.

The operation will gather teams from across the force to deal with the summer increase in demand.

People will see more patrols and road checks, while weekend deployments in various parts of the county will tackle those intent on doing communities harm.

Assistant Chief Constable, Andy Prophet said: “The NHS describes winter as its busiest season but, for policing, summertime brings with it a big increase in demand for our help.

“Summer is a time when we have more people go missing, more people whose behaviour worsens after too much alcohol and simply tens of thousands more people in the county coming to enjoy Essex but, sometimes, needing our help.

“The work we’ll be doing over the summer aims at making a safe county even safer.

“We are bringing together a number of different teams that serve the entire county, including the Operational Support Group, our dog unit and the roads policing unit, to add to the capacity local policing teams offer.

“People can expect to see high-visible local patrols on road networks, and on foot, in our streets – targeted between Thursday evening and Sunday night, when we know we are busiest.

“We are putting those resources – not more officers but a different approach to deploying them – where they’re most needed.”

Chief Superintendent Paul Wells said: “High visibility patrols are designed to deter criminals and reassure the public but please don’t think that just because you can’t see us, we aren’t there.

“There will be people intent on criminal behaviour this summer – drug dealers and burglars included – about whom we’ve been building evidence and intelligence.

“For them they are much more likely to see us coming through their door at 3am in the morning than patrolling their high street.”

If you have information about someone drink-driving, using the road network to enter communities and cause harm, or carrying knives, call 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.