Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Extra bobbies on beat ‘already having impact’
Kent’s police force has been boosted with the recruitment of 95 extra constables.
The officers, who began their service in October, completed their training with a passing out parade at the county’s police college off Sutton Road in Maidstone last Friday.
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Scott was there to congratulate them. Another batch of 100 officers have already started their training, bringing the constabulary’s total manpower to 3,732. Mr Scott said he was proud there were now 550 more officers in Kent than when he was elected in spring 2016.
He said: “I wish the latest recruits all the best for their future careers.
“I also want to thank Kent Police’s recruitment team, and the trainers at the college, for working so hard this year to get a good calibre of candidates through the doors and for preparing them for service with the force. Raising council tax is not a decision I take lightly. But throughout my four years in office I heard time and again from residents and local businesses that they wanted more police officers to be more visible in their communities and I responded accordingly.” The police’s portion of council tax has risen by 5.2%, in a move expected to bring in £8.4m. Mr Scott added: “These extra police officers are starting to have a real impact. “Rural policing, roads policing and town centres have all benefitted. The Chief Constable’s Crime Squad is bringing serious offenders to justice and crime like burglary and violence with injury are down.” Mr Scott, who had been due to face re-election this May will now serve an additional year as Kent’s PCC, to May 2021, after the Government announced plans to postpone a welter of elections because of the spread of coronavirus.