Statement from Cabinet lead for Community Safety

We regularly keep our finger on the pulse on what is taking place around the borough and through our strong partnership working with the police and across council services we are able to target hotspot areas where we start to see an increase in crime.

More recently, following a spike in robberies around the Graveney area the police and the council together with Graveney School are working closely to provide a co-ordinated targeted response.

This includes:

• High visibility patrols being conducted by the police, especially around school opening and closing times.

• The local school, supported by the school’s police officer, writing to all parents, providing reassurance, talking to students in assembly to raise awareness on keeping safe as well as joining forces with the police to patrol the areas around the school and offering both emotional and practical support to any young person impacted.

• Investigations by the police Robbery Team to capture evidence with a focus on catching and convicting those responsible.

Our communities can help solve crimes and keep our streets safe by speaking up about what they know by:

• Contacting Crimestoppers and remaining anonymous. Online at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/keeping-safe/safer-streets or on the phone 0800 555 111

We would also encourage our young people to visit https://www.fearless.org/ where they can also report anonymously and access advise about staying safe.

We would like to encourage our communities to report any incidents of crime to the police by calling 999.