Kent Police’s ‘Safer Summer’ campaign will focus on tackling violent crime, anti-social behaviour and road safety issues.
Officers will carry out various operations and events across Kent to address the problems that affect each community.
Some of the planned activities include patrolling hotspots of crime and disorder, conducting road checks to catch speeding and other traffic violations, and hosting walk-and-talk events for women and girls to share their opinions on how they can feel safer.
The initiative coincides with the launch of the force’s new neighbourhood policing model, which includes an expanded Rural Task Force, the establishment of Child-Centred Policing Teams and a renewed emphasis on community beat officers. These will be the main focus of the force’s own Neighbourhood Policing Week, starting from Monday 19 June.
Superintendent Pete Steenhuis, Head of Prevention at Kent Police, said: ‘Keeping people safe is a year-round priority for Kent Police but the longer days and warmer weather of the summer months can often lead to increases in crime and anti-social behaviour that require a specific focus from us to tackle.
‘Working with our partners including local authorities and other emergency services, we have significant plans in place to ensure we protect the most vulnerable in our communities and stop offences from occurring in the first place.’
About My Community Voice
My Community Voice is a messaging service from Kent Police that helps residents, businesses and community groups keep in touch with their local policing teams. As part of Safer Summer the force is encouraging people to sign up so they can contact officers directly about the issues affecting them and receive alerts on matters including crime prevention advice, engagement events and witness appeals.
Supt Steenhuis said: ‘We fully appreciate the impact crime and antisocial behaviour has on people’s quality of life and want to address the issues that matter most to them. That is why we encourage everyone to sign up to My Community Voice so they can have their say on how we approach our priorities and work with our partners to prevent and tackle crime and keep people safe.’
Visit this link to sign up to My Community Voice.
Search for #SaferSummer on Twitter for updates on activity happening across the county.