Today I visited New Ash Green, alongside Matthew Scott, PCC for Kent, Kent Police District Commander Chief Inspector Jones, Local Councillors Cllr Pett and Cllr Nelson; and Local Residents’ Association Chairmen Dean Gorton and David Clark, following a series of emails I received from residents regarding an increase locally in anti-social behaviour.
I am pleased that after a number of actions to increase patrols and deal with those involved, crime numbers have now decreased from their peak in August. However I, and DCI Jones, are continuing to monitoring developments closely and I would like to thank all who joined me for the visit for their hard work.
Although the meeting was focussed on New Ash Green, there were two important points raised which are useful for all us:
Please remember to report ALL crime. Police resources are directed to the areas with the most problems, so reporting crimes really does make a difference. There is a helpful page on the Kent County Council website which provides details on how to do this: https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/.../projects.../victim-voice/
Please do sign up for My Community Voice – https://www.mycommunityvoicekent.co.uk/ - a messaging service that helps you keep in touch with local policing teams. The service sends updates about your local area directly from the police officers themselves.
Whilst we rightly look to the police to deal with crime, they need the help and support of the whole community – so we must all play our part.
