A huge part of feeling safe is about help being there when you need it, but in recent years many of our rural communities have felt let down by police response times.
With 20,000 more officers on our streets since 2019, it’s time to put that right. I’m working with local councillors, police, and our Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott to bring these response times down across the constituency.
After a series of roundtables I hosted earlier this year, Kent Police agreed to add rural crime to their Control Strategy for the first time, as well as giving every ward in the county its own named officer. This neighbourhood policing model should be up and running by the start of next year, and will mean local communities always having someone they can call on if needed.
The Rural Crime Taskforce has also been expanded, 101 call are being answered faster, and Kent Police have hired 300 more officers to local policing teams.
But there's still more to do, and it's not just rural areas who need police on hand to help quickly. Click on the links below to find out what I've been up to, and please do get in touch to report any issues you've had with response times.
That way we can make sure things keep on improving.
