A NEW police project is underway in the district, with Halstead the first stop on the list.

Op Community is a new initiative which will see significant numbers of officers from all areas of the force taking part in days of action to combat issues raised by people in every district across the county.

Last week saw the start of Op Community in the Braintree district, with a visit to Halstead.

A police spokesman said: “During the day we did a traffic operation with our colleagues from Braintree Council at three different locations.

“To keep our roads safe, we checked the speed of more than 300 vehicles.

“To combat fly tipping, 21 vans were checked for having the correct documentation for waste.

“And to make sure people are safe on public transport, three taxis were checked for the correct licences.

“In the afternoon officers in plain clothes patrolled the hotspots you told us about, seven stop searches were carried out and two arrests were made

“There were also uniformed foot patrols in the town centre with officers visiting the youth club and the town council AGM.”