The number of cases solved by Kent Police has increased from 12% to 15% over the last two years, 5% above the national average. Kristin Hawthorne reports.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00A transformation in neighbourhood policing.
00:03Thousands of new police officers are set to hit the streets
00:06as part of the government's plan to tackle anti-social behaviour across England and Wales.
00:11We'll deliver 13,000 new neighbourhood officers by 2029.
00:16And today I can announce the first step.
00:203,000 new neighbourhood officers by the start of next year.
00:24All of them visible, on the beat and serving their communities.
00:30And from this July, so just a few months' time,
00:33every neighbourhood will have a named contactable officer.
00:37They'll have guaranteed police patrols in town centres and hot spots,
00:42particularly at peak times like Friday and Saturday nights.
00:46With the announcement of the increase of thousands of more officers
00:48being placed across Britain to tackle anti-social behaviour,
00:51I'm wondering how many of these will be placed in Kent.
00:54and if it will be able to make a difference to the safety of those in the county.
00:58We'll be putting an additional 65 officers into our neighbourhood policing teams.
01:02They'll be deployed in every district across the county
01:05for tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in our town centres.
01:09Here in Kent, concerns about anti-social behaviour are already running high.
01:13In Sittingbourne, some residents have even started forming anonymous road crews
01:17on WhatsApp to deter crime,
01:20saying police simply aren't responding quickly enough.
01:22So visibility for policing is hugely important.
01:26We know it's an incredibly crucial part of the public's perception of policing.
01:32I would advise anyone who is considering taking part in
01:36or setting up a so-called road crew not to do so,
01:39apart from anything else.
01:40So they haven't made themselves aware to us.
01:41We don't know where they're operating.
01:44But I would say I recognise the strength of the feeling that people have
01:47when they're affected by anti-social behaviour.
01:49And I would ask anyone who is to come forward and tell us what's happening.
01:53Let us know so that we can understand the picture of that
01:55and do something about it together.
01:56And I certainly want to work with community groups,
01:58residents associations and others
02:00to provide sustainable solutions to some of those issues.
02:03But it's not just more police officers that will be introduced to the county,
02:07but named ones for each area as well,
02:10which MP Kevin McKenna thinks will help to tackle the issues.
02:13Right now, people aren't sure who to speak to in the police.
02:17Once there's a named neighbourhood team,
02:19they'll know who to go to.
02:21Once there's an accountable person for anti-social behaviour,
02:23they will know who to contact and say,
02:25look, we've got this whole problem in our area of anti-social behaviour, ASB.
02:29But it's about when people really see the difference.
02:33So I'm hoping that once we get these named officers,
02:36these named neighbourhood policing teams,
02:38these named anti-social behaviour officers,
02:41it will start to be people will be like,
02:43right, that's who I go to.
02:44That's how I do it.
02:45And people will start to see a difference.
02:47While some locals in Maidstone told me
02:49they don't think neighbourhood policing will make a difference,
02:52the government are hoping that bits on the ground
02:54will finally bring long-term change.
02:56Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Maidstone.