Delivering Safer Communities Together: £20m of efficiencies delivered by the Essex Emergency Services Collaboration Programme
£20million of public money has been saved by an ongoing programme of collaboration between emergency services in Essex according to a recent review.
Since its inception in 2017, the Essex Emergency Services Collaboration Programme (ESCP) has been a cornerstone of innovation and partnership between Essex Police, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS), the East of England Ambulance Service Trust, and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC).
A new review into the programme shows the ESCP is on track to save the Essex taxpayer £20m in efficiencies – a testament to the power of collaboration in public service.
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “The Essex Emergency Services Collaboration Programme is a powerful example of how working together delivers real results for our communities. From improving safety for women and girls through Project Minerva to streamlining frontline response with Tri-Service Officers, we are not only saving money - we are saving lives. I’m proud of the £20 million in efficiencies we’re on track to deliver, but even prouder of the safer, more resilient Essex we’re building together.”
The ESCP was established to meet the statutory duty to collaborate, but it has gone far beyond compliance. It has become a strategic vehicle for delivering smarter, more integrated services that improve outcomes for the public while reducing duplication and cost. The programme has supported over a dozen major projects, each designed to enhance operational effectiveness, community safety, and value for money.
Rick Hylton, Chief Fire Officer of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The Collaboration Programme has enabled us to deliver real change in how we work together across services. From prevention to response, we are seeing the benefits of shared knowledge, joint training, and integrated delivery. It’s making Essex safer, and it’s making our services stronger.”
BJ Harrington QPM, Chief Constable of Essex Police, said: “Working effectively together isn’t just a statutory duty—it helps us prevent crime and keep people safe. Crime is falling In Essex but our officers and staff across the force, whether in Neighbourhood Policing Teams, response units or specialist teams are never complacent. This work is delivering change and I support it.”
Among the groundbreaking projects which have improved efficiency are Project Minerva, the introduction of Tri-service rural prevention officers, an arson prevention programme and Shared Estate Classrooms.
There is also greater use of joint facilities, with ambulance crews now deploying from Essex County Fire and Rescue Stations, to enhance the ‘hub and spoke’ model. Essex Police officers are also now able to use Essex County Fire and Rescue Service stations as operational bases while on patrol.
ENDS
Further details on efficiency programmes
Project Minerva: A Data-Driven Approach to Improving Safety for Women and Girls
One of the most innovative and high-profile initiatives under the ESCP banner is Project Minerva. Endorsed by both the PFCC and the Chief Constable, Minerva uses data analytics to identify areas that are over-represented for fear and violence towards women and girls across Essex. Developed in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, the project transforms pseudonymised crime data into actionable maps that inform non-policing interventions by Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) to make public spaces safer.
The PFCC has actively supported Minerva through targeted grant funding, ensuring a fair geographic spread of resources across the county. The project has also been showcased at events such as International Women’s Day and is supported by a robust communications campaign to drive public engagement.
Tri-Service Rural Prevention Officers: A Model of Integrated Prevention
Another standout success is the Tri-Service Rural Prevention Officer pilot, which placed joint officers in rural areas of the Dengie Peninsula (Maldon district) and Uttlesford. These officers deliver community engagement, fire safety, crime prevention activities, and health promotion —functions that would otherwise require multiple personnel from different services. The pilot has demonstrated not only financial savings but also significant non-financial benefits, including increased public confidence and reduced incidents of arson and anti-social behaviour.
Arson Prevention and Beyond
The ESCP has also delivered measurable results through its Arson Prevention Programme, which moved to Business-as-Usual status in 2021. The programme has helped reduce deliberate fires through joint working between ECFRS and Essex Police, supported by data sharing and community outreach.
Other Key Projects
In addition to its core programmes, ESCP has investigated a variety of joint initiatives that aimed to improve service integration, efficiency, and public safety:
• Shared Estate Classrooms: Implemented co-located training facilities to optimise resources and support inter-agency learning. This initiative aligns with broader efforts to make better use of shared estates, ensuring that emergency services can work more effectively while maximising available resources.
• Joint Facilities: Considered various models for shared spaces to enhance operational alignment between emergency services. This has included provision of space at Fire Stations for Ambulance crews to deploy from to enhance their ‘hub and spoke’ model. Fire also now allow police officers to use fire stations as operational bases while on patrol. This means that officers can stop at designated fire stations to take breaks, complete paperwork, and maintain a visible presence in the community without needing to return to a traditional police station.
• RJ Fire Breaks: The RJ Firebreaks initiative has been operational since November 2016. The key objective of the programme was to increase empathy among participants, encourage them to join the formal RJ programme and therefore achieve economic savings through reduced offending behaviour. Since its inception, the RJ Firebreaks initiative has demonstrated substantial social and economic benefits, and the programme and PFCC is committed to its continued advancement.
• Joint Education Team: Expanded the existing Fire Education Team, into a jointly funded team, with Fire’s Education Officers delivering safety awareness programmes to include fire and crime safety advice in schools. This collaboration between fire and police services aims to provide a unified approach to safety education, addressing various safety concerns such as home safety, cyber safety, arson prevention, and more.
• Collapsed Behind Closed Doors: This commenced in May 2016 and has provided significant savings and improved the response times where calls to the Ambulance Service have required assistance in providing entry into a premises to provide immediate assistance. This project developed protocols whereby the Fire Service provided this service rather than Police, meaning faster response times and use of specialist equipment giving quicker access for Ambulance crews, and a reduction in Police demand.
The relationships built through these efforts have significantly strengthened Essex’s capacity to respond effectively to multi-agency inquiries, including major investigations and Public Inquiries following incidents such as Grenfell and the Manchester Arena bombing. These collaborations have enhanced crisis response, streamlined communication channels, and reinforced the importance of unified action during large-scale emergencies.
Governance and Assurance
The programme is governed by the Strategic Collaboration Governance Board and supported by a dedicated Programme Board. Risks and benefits are regularly reviewed, with recent external independent audits confirming that the programme is on track to meet its savings targets.
In a significant step forward, ESCP has developed a framework in collaboration with the Home Office to assign financial value to prevention initiatives. This methodology ensures that preventative work is formally recognised, allows for sign-off on financial efficiencies, and supports a structured review of predicted benefits through annual evaluations.
Looking Ahead
With less than three years remaining in the current programme cycle, the ESCP continues to evolve. New projects are being scoped, and existing ones are being embedded into core service delivery. The commitment from all partners remains strong, and the PFCC is working closely with stakeholders to ensure that the benefits of collaboration continue to grow.