A series of community meetings aimed at crime prevention have been cancelled because they don’t offer “value for money”.

Basildon Council has been holding the Together for Safer Communities meetings since 2017 and have bought thousands of crime prevention items to give out to attendees for free.

The council purchased so many of the items, including purse bells, number plate screws, personal alarms, window alarms and no cold calling stickers, in 2017 that they were still handing them out at a meeting held this month.

A council report has now revealed that the meetings will no longer continue because they “do not offer good value for money”.

A budget of £10,000 had been allocated for the meeting in 2018/19 but due to materials continuing to be left over from 2017, the money has not been touhced and will now be distributed to other community safety initiatives.

The council report It goes on to note: “It is not possible to link the distribution of crime prevention materials and the Together for Safer Communities meetings directly to an impact on crime statistics as many other factors also influence the levels of crime and disorder, such as targeted police operations.

“Considering the overall cost of this initiative along with the poor attendance in some areas, having a further series of Together for Safer Communities, in their current format is not recommended."