Chief Inspector Sarah Rivett’s visit to Council

Chief Inspector Sarah Rivett returned to talk to Kennington Community Council for the second time in 18 months on Wednesday 13 November when the Council met for its monthly meeting. At her last visit, the level of staffing compared to the Policing Model was running at only 50 per cent. She indicated that most units were now up to full strength, with the exception of Beat Officers where there remained 20 per cent vacancies. 

 

Kennington’s full-time Beat Officer, PC Adam Staughton, accompanied the Chief Inspector as did Alison Oates (Operations Manager, Community Safety Unit). Adam is still recovering from being run down by a motorist refusing to stop and is limited to desk duties. The motorist is behind bars. 

 

Sarah Rivett explained that Ashford is about mid-table in a league of crime statistics across Kent and that crime overall in the area had fallen by about 5 per cent and anti-social behaviour by 10 per cent. The Council expressed concern that not all crime was being reported. Its own efforts to encourage crime reporting had not attracted support from Kent Police and the Council later decided to write to Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott on the issue. 

 

Council and Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator pressed her on the approach of Ashford Police to the illegal use of electric scooters on highways and footpaths. They argued that after a year of stopping offenders and in most cases seeking the education route in preference to prosecution, it was time to seize and destroy e-scooters, especially in cases where the rider had over-ridden the speed limiter. A suggestion was made that the force could cooperate with schools, to which e-scooters were being illegally ridden every day. 

 

The Chief Inspector said that the force planned to repeat across the Borough the successful day of action taken in Stanhope recently but otherwise they would maintain a policy of dealing with offenders on a case by case basis. She pointed out that considerable resources could be tied up when an e-scooter was seized, transported to the Police Station and safely disposed of, taking into account the risks associated with batteries in the vehicles.