Policing is a hard job and I welcome more of them

Policing is a hard job in North Kent but we are fortunate to have a good local police force who deserve our support.  In these tough economic times police officers are naturally concerned over how any changes will affect them but appreciate that changes need to take place. It is re-assuring to know however that Kent police are not only maintaining their number of front line officers but actually increasing them to around an extra 400 officers. 

In a recent statement, Chief Constable Ian Learmonth said he was "determined" to maintain frontline policing services and pledged to introduce around 400 extra neighbourhood officers.  In addition, Mr Learmonth said the restructuring plans would provide a "quicker and more efficient response to persistent policing problems".

This is great news and builds on the work that the local Chief Superintendent, Mark Powell and his colleagues have put in to North Kent. The priority that he has given to neighbourhood policing and the so called front line will be welcomed by local residents.

Several years ago a decision was made to close Dartford Police Station and move resources to the new North Kent police station. The concern was that this would lead to a reduction in the number of police officers seen in Dartford. Fortunately Dartford Council stepped in and arranged for a large number of Police Officers to be based at Dartford Civic Offices. This decision and Kent Police’s own restructuring should lead to an increase in the number of officers seen in Dartford and is very welcome news. The closure of Dartford Police Station could have been bad news for policing in Dartford but the relocating of so many Police staff to the Council Offices will ensure that there continues to be close ties between the police and local residents.