Fraud is on the rise in Essex — with a 6.1% increase in offences over the past year, totalling 9,604 incidentsand a staggering £68.5 millionin losses.
Despite the scale of the issue, many residents still feel unsure or anxious about reporting fraud. In fact, Essex Police estimate that many people experience fraud at least once a month, yet most cases go unreported.
To help tackle this, the Multi-Agency Approach to Fraud (MAAF)has launched a new anonymous surveyto understand public awareness and experiences of fraud and scams — whether or not you’ve been a victim. The goal is to better focus resources, improve prevention strategies, and ultimately reduce fraud across Southend, Essex, and Thurrock.
MAAFbrings together key organisations including:
Essex County Council
Essex Police
Essex Trading Standards
Victim Support
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
We’re asking all Alliance members and partners to support this important initiative by sharing the survey widely — through your communications channels, networks, and with your communities. Every response counts.
Councillor Mark Durham, who oversees Essex Trading Standards, said:
“Fraudsters are always looking at new ways to scam people to a point where it’s not always immediately clear when you’ve been a victim. This can make fraud a difficult crime to combat and means we have to constantly evolve our tactics. However, if enough people come forward and engage with our anonymous survey, we can get a better understanding of the issues faced and start stamping out what has become a rampant issue across the UK.”
If you’ve been affected by fraud or want to learn more, visitEssex Police.
This survey is being carried out by Essex County Council as part of a wider partnership of organisations planning for future pharmaceutical services.
Summary
We are inviting you to take part in a survey about pharmaceutical services (provided by pharmacies, dispensing doctors, internet pharmacies and dispensing appliance contractors) in the Essex area. The results from this survey will help us to understand how local people use the services, how they rate their experience, and what they would like in the future. These views will contribute towards the production of a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment for Essex and assist in determining what services are required to meet the needs of the local population.
The current Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment covering the Essex area is available on Essex Open Data.
If you would like more information about the survey, alternative formats (such as a paper copy, translation or an easy read copy) or have questions on how to complete the questionnaire, you can contact PublicHealth2@essex.gov.uk
Why your views matter
Completion of the survey is voluntary and if you choose not to take part it will not affect the care you receive from the NHS or your pharmacy/GP in any way.
Your answers will be kept completely confidential and won’t be collated with any information that makes you identifiable. It is voluntary to disclose this information. If you choose not to answer the ‘About you’ questions, it will not affect your participation.
Your answers will only be used to tell us about your experience of pharmaceutical services, and to help us to improve these services.
Your views are important to us so please spare a few minutes to complete the survey, it should take no longer than 5-7 minutes to complete.
The results of this survey will be available on Essex Open Data where the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment will be published in October 2025.
Essex County Council fully complies with information legislation. If you would like the full details of how we use personal data, and the rights you have about its use, please go to www.essex.gov.uk/privacy-community (Research & Citizen Insight) or call 03457 43043.
