More armed police patrol ‘iconic’ sites

The number of armed police on the streets of Kent was increased from Monday.

Extra officers carrying firearms and tasers are now being deployed at locations including the Port of Dover, Bluewater shopping centre and Canterbury Cathedral.

Kent Police says the increase is not in response to any direct threat, but follows recent international terror attacks and a rise in national threat levels.

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Brandon said: “We are deploying armed officers at a number of iconic sites across the county.

“We’re doing the initial patrolling from within the resources we have, supplemented with overtime, but are actually in the process of recruiting a number of new firearms officers to be deployed to other parts of the county.”

Despite recruitment problems, Mr Brandon is confident the force will be able to attract more firearms trained staff.

He said: “It is a challenge because you are asking someone, in the most severe circumstances, to take someone’s life and that isn’t something that every officer feels comfortable putting themselves forward for.

“We don’t have huge numbers of firearms officers, but for the ones we do have we must ensure that they have the best training and best equipment.”