Crime in Dover, Deal and Sandwich IS going down - and people can do more to help ensure that the downward trend continues.

That’s the message from Superintendent Mark Nottage who has taken over as Deputy Area Commander for South Kent.

Simple crime prevention measures, such as not leaving items such as jackets, laptops and sat navs on view in parked cars and securing windows and doors at home, can help reduce the number of crimes committed.

And Supt Nottage and his colleagues have a message for criminals too: We’re coming after you!

“We want to make sure that this area remains a safe place for people to live and work in, and an uncomfortable place for those who want to commit crime,” he said.

“The number of offences is not especially bad in this area and crime is going down. But we also want to tackle the fear of crime which people have.”

Chief Inspector Martin Bradley said there was a good working partnership with the public safety units at the district councils, providing a much quicker and better response to problems that arise.