THREE years after the introduction of new measures to tackle antisocial behaviour in the county, a shocking review has named Essex Police as the worst force in the country at managing the issue.
The investigation, commissioned by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC), found the force is poor at recording incidents and identifying trends and hotspots.
It also said they did not adequately consider the risk to victims of yobbish behaviour in the county.
The HMIC report is their second in 12 months to criticise Essex Police's handling of antisocial behaviour.
It comes just three years after the force, working with Essex County Council and the Safer Essex Partnership, agreed to a ground-breaking set of standards for tackling the problem
"We have undertaken a significant amount of work regarding how we respond to ASB since the publication of the HMIC's first report in 2012," said Chief Superintendent Sean O'Callaghan.
"We have been working closely with our partners to significantly improve our response to incidents, and HMIC staff were involved in the development of our new procedures.
"We have recognised that there was work to be done and best practice, identified nationally, now sits at the heart of our revised procedure for dealing with anti-social behaviour.
"But it is also important to remember that the police cannot solve antisocial behaviour issues on their own.
"Over the last two years we have worked very closely with local councils, housing providers and communities to improve the way we all deal with antisocial behaviour and this work will continue," added the chief superintendent.
Since the original report in 2012, Essex Police say they have examined repeat occurrences and those involving vulnerable victims in the county, with an 8.5 per cent reduction in reports between April 2012 and February 2013.
But the HMIC report, published earlier this month, found that 23 per cent of calls reporting anti-social behaviour came from those classed as vulnerable, while 11 per cent came from those who had contacted police at least three or four times in a year, with no resolution reached.
"Bottom of a table is not a good place to be," said Nick Alston, the Essex Police and Crime Commissioner.
"The (original) HMIC report led Essex Police to develop and introduce a major new policy for managing and responding to ASB, with an increased focus on repeat, vulnerable, victims.
"There may be additional lessons to be learnt from the new analysis, and I am very clear that evidence-based academic research is something that Essex Police and all forces should consider as they seek to tackle ASB and crime in the most effective manner possible."
The new partnership measures in 2010 were intended to ensure reports were dealt with efficiently and represented a "hard-line approach to dealing with perpetrators".
An Essex County Council spokesman said: "Although responding to antisocial behaviour is primarily a police responsibility, Essex County Council works closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner, Essex Police and other partners through the Safer Essex Partnership to do what we can to help reduce crime and improve community safety.
"We have noted the issues suggested by this report, and improvements made over the last couple of years, and will continue to work in partnership with the police, district councils and other colleagues to prevent anti-social behaviour happening in the first place."
Have you had any experiences, good or bad, reporting antisocial behaviour to Essex Police. Let us know by commenting below or email newsdesk@essexchronicle.co.uk